"Do you really want to kill them?"

The question lingered in the thick, stale air as silence swallowed the entire room.

Everyone stared at Red, many of them wondering if they had heard him correctly.

Meanwhile, Gin let out a slow exhale.

The madam told us to convince them, but... He shook his head. I guess there’s no other way.

His gaze swept across the room. Everyone’s attention was fixed on Red.

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Gin quietly bent over and slipped off one of his worn-out shoes.

This place was heavily guarded, but it wasn’t like a prison.

They had been searched for weapons when they arrived, and that was it. No uniforms. No strip searches. The inspection wasn’t nearly as thorough as one would expect.

Pulling out the insole, Gin retrieved a tiny concealed device hidden beneath it.

He looked around once more to make sure no one was watching before discreetly getting to work.

The people outside needed a signal.

The plan had always been for Ashley, Red, and Gin to force the prisoners out before this entire place was reduced to rubble.

"I’m asking you," Red repeated, his eyes never leaving Charm. "Do you want to get out of here?"

A moment passed in pure silence until a round of laughter broke out in the room.

"Get... get off me." Charm shrugged the men off.

The men pinning him down immediately climbed off and backed away, their attention shifting to Red.

Charm pushed himself to his feet.

Standing face-to-face, the difference in their builds became obvious.

Charm wasn’t particularly bulky, but he was tall, lean, and well-built. Red was already taller than most men, yet Charm still had a slight edge in height and reach.

Not that it mattered to Red.

He met Charm’s eyes without flinching.

Charm slowly looked him up and down before letting out another laugh.

"Hey, kid. Are you asking because you think I won’t do it if I get the chance?" he sneered. "Or are you just stupid?"

"Charm," Old Fool’s voice cut through the room. "Don’t pick on the kid."

He then turned to one of the men nearby. "Check outside. You don’t know who’s listening."

If the guards overheard even part of this conversation, everyone could end up paying for it.

They weren’t planning a rebellion.

But anything that even smelled like one would be crushed mercilessly.

Old Fool slowly pushed himself to his feet, asking someone else to tend to the injured before making his way toward Red and Charm.

"Young man," he called. "I already told you to fix that stare of yours. Acting tough in this place serves no purpose. If anything, it’ll only attract unnecessary attention."

Charm snickered. "Young people these days, huh, Old Fool?"

Old Fool sighed. Before he could continue, Red spoke again.

"So if you got the chance..." he said calmly. "You would kill them?"

This time, his eyes swept across everyone in the warehouse. They all looked back at him as though he’d completely lost his mind.

"Because if you would..." His gaze settled back on Charm. "...then I’ll give you that chance."

A long silence deafened the entire place before it erupted with another wave of laughter.

"Haha! What the hell is this kid talking about?"

"You’ve only been here for a few hours, and you’ve already lost your mind?"

"This brat’s going to die first. He’ll end up everyone’s punching bag."

"If you don’t wake up, your life here will be even more miserable than ours," another man called out. "Just shut up. This place is already hell. Don’t make it worse for yourself."

Unlike everyone else, Charm didn’t laugh.

His expression darkened. Before Old Fool could react, Charm grabbed Red by the collar and yanked him forward.

"Listen, kid." His voice dropped into a low growl. "I’m only saying this because you’re new."

He leaned closer. "Stop spouting bullshit. You probably still think there’s hope in this place. There isn’t."

"This place is hell. Worse than hell." His grip tightened. "So throw away whatever fantasy you’ve got and face reality."

He paused and added through his gritted teeth.

"In here, you either do what you’re told... or you get tortured until you die."

Charm shoved Red backward.

"This is my first and last warning." He stared coldly at Red. "If you get yourself into trouble because of your pride, nobody’s coming to save you."

"And worse? You won’t just drag yourself down. You’ll drag everyone in your unit down with you." His voice hardened. "If you don’t know how this place works yet, let me spell it out. Your mistakes become everyone else’s punishment."

"If you’re going to get yourself killed, at least have the decency to die alone. Otherwise, everyone here pays for what you did."

That was how this place kept everyone obedient.

No one feared punishment for themselves anymore. They feared becoming the reason everyone else suffered.

So, for each other’s sake, they swallowed their anger. They endured and obeyed.

Life here was already unbearable.

There was no reason to make it even worse.

Having said his piece, Charm turned around and walked away.

The warehouse remained quiet.

No one blamed him.

Even after threatening to kill someone moments ago, everyone understood what he was doing.

"You should listen to him." Old Fool walked over to Red with a weary sigh. "He may come off rough, but that’s exactly why everyone respects him."

He gave Red a small nod.

There was nothing unusual about this. Every so often, new recruits arrived with dreams of changing something. They learned their lesson most quickly.

The unlucky ones... never lived long enough to learn.

"You’ll get used to it," Old Fool said patiently. "I’m sorry you ended up in a place like this."

He placed a hand on Red’s shoulder.

"But try not to get yourself killed. And whatever you do... don’t give people false hope." His eyes grew heavy. "That’s the cruelest thing you can do to anyone in here."

With that, Old Fool turned and walked away.

Red watched him go. He clicked his tongue quietly before turning toward the warehouse entrance.

As he walked outside, only one thought crossed his mind.

I guess I’ll have to force them.