Endless Debt

Broken low walls stood among the collapsed ruins, like large gray rocks, boundless, spreading into the gray mist.

The simple hut stood alone among the rocks. It was made of some simple wooden boards and tattered fabrics. It looked very fragile and crumbling.

In the corner of the ground, there was a crack that spread all the way into the darkness below and connected with this large area of ​​ruins. After a slight vibration, Melissa moved her body through the narrow gap. Got out of it.

The cabin is Melissa's home, but this home is too simple and does not bring any sense of security at all. Therefore, she usually sleeps in this crack. Although it is too narrow to turn over, there is no ventilation, and there are bugs from time to time. Climbing over Melissa's body, but in the old city, such a sleeping environment is already quite good.

It will not be robbed by other blood people at night, nor will it be discovered by wandering wild beasts, nor will it be brutally arrested by the blood tax officials... Melissa understands this very well.

With her thin body, she often crawled around in the cracks of the ruins. Several times late at night, she saw the blood tax collectors violently bulldozing the simple houses and arresting the blood people hiding in them. came out and was put into a cage.

Melissa guessed that they were attacked by the blood tax collectors because they failed to pay taxes in time, or they might have made other mistakes. Melissa only knew that the blood people had never appeared since then.

"There are many gifts in the world, some come from God, some come from the devil, but only blood comes from ourselves."

This is a saying often said by the believers on the west side of the old city. Melissa doesn’t quite understand what this sentence means, but after dealing with them often, Melissa has remembered a few words over time and habitually said Retelling.

After ensuring that the surrounding area was safe, Melissa pulled her body out of the gap. She fell to the ground panting and exhausted.

Shaking the dust off her body, Melissa's skin had a sickly pale color, and blue blood vessels were vaguely visible. Her body was extremely thin and she had been in a state of malnutrition for a long time, but she did not feel panic about it, but was glad that she was like this. So thin.

As long as she continues to look thin, Melissa can continue to hide in the cracks of the ruins. Once she grows too big and cannot fit in, the risk of her life in the old city will inevitably be much higher. .

After resting for a while, Melissa took off the long cloth in the corner and wrapped it tightly around her body to cover her appearance. She got out of her cabin like a dexterous wild cat.

There were gloomy and gray clouds above her head, and there were many ruins in sight. A gray mist covered them, and Melissa could only see blurry silhouettes one after another.

Taking a deep breath, the moist and cold air poured into her lungs, and with the drizzle of rain hitting her body, Melissa shivered and walked quickly through the ruins.

A huge silhouette loomed in the distance, as if a giant was standing behind the fog, revealing bursts of terrifying aura.

There is the Blood Tax Station, a rare complete building in the old city, and it is also Melissa's first stop today.

Melissa couldn't help but become nervous. In the past, she would have never had the courage to contact the Blood Tax Collector. But thinking of the new friends she had made recently, Melissa decided to take the risk and give him a try out of her trust in him.

She walked carefully through the fog, and faint screams and loud fighting sounds came from the side. Melissa alertly hid in a gap, and then two figures struggled out of the fog.

"Damn it! Be honest!"

In this gray-toned world, the blood tax collector in scarlet clothes was so conspicuous that Melissa saw his existence almost for the first time.

While yelling and cursing, he pressed a blood citizen under him, raised a short stick, and repeatedly beat his withered and thin body.

The Blood Tax Collector's attack was very skillful, with neither light nor heavy force. It left patches of bruises on the man's body, but it did not break his flesh and blood and cause blood to flow out.

Every blood tax officer will undergo rigorous training before taking office and master how to beat the blood people without losing blood. You must know that every drop of blood is extremely precious.

Soon, the man was beaten to the point of dying, his body paralyzed on the ground, and there was no trace of resistance left.

Two other blood tax officers came out of the mist. One blood tax officer held a short stick and was alert to the surroundings. The other blood tax officer skillfully opened the medical box, picked up the needle and catheter, and connected them together. He felt for the location of blood vessels on his arm.

The last blood tax officer checked the man's appearance and the sequence of nameplates on his body, opened the account book in his hand, and compared them one by one.

Melissa looked at it secretly. Blood tax collectors usually work in groups of three, and the three of them have different functions. In the old city, people call the one with a short stick a debt collector, and the one with medical insurance. The blood thief, the last person to take the ledger is the auditor.

The auditor's voice was cold and machine-like, "Mr. Bree, you owe three installments of blood tax."

"Delay it for a few more days! I'll make it up!"

Bree wailed, begging the blood tax collectors for mercy.

The auditor shook his head in disappointment. "We gave you a chance."

Brie became hysterical, "What can I do! I am also a human being, and my hematopoietic ability is only that!"

"This has nothing to do with us. We are only responsible for paying taxes. As for the blood... we don't care where the blood comes from."

The auditors didn't want to waste any more time with Bree, they had a lot of accounts to collect today.

He said to the third blood thief, "According to the tax amount... we need 700 milliliters of blood."

"Seven hundred milliliters?"

The blood thief glanced at the shivering Buri. Like many blood people, this guy lacked sunlight and his skin became pale. He had lived in a dark and humid place for many years. He had certain skin diseases and a foul smell. the taste of.

The most important thing is that Bree's body shape is the same as that of most exploited blood people. His body is rickety and emaciated, and he doesn't look like he can pump 700 milliliters at a time.

The bloodthief glanced at the auditor, but he said nothing. The debt collector did not need to consider anything for the debtor. Meaningless compassion in this land of eternal night would only kill himself.

"be honest."

The blood thief strangled Brie's wrist hard, and saw that Brie's entire arm was covered with dense needle holes. Due to repeated injections and blood draws, large bruises covered it.

After careful searching, the blood thief could not find a blood vessel that could be injected in Bree's arm.

"Switch to the other hand."

The bloodthief manipulated Bree forcefully, while Bree cried and cried.

Brie continued to pray, "Take... take me to the Blood Tax Station! The Blood Tax Station, I will complete my tax payment there!"

The three looked at each other, and Bree's request seemed to move them. The auditor then looked at the blood stealer, seemingly seeking the blood stealer's opinion.

"With his physical condition, if he directly extracts 700 milliliters, he will probably die here," the blood thief said, "But if it is sent to the blood tax station, although it will take a certain amount of time, he can bring more than 700 ml. Milliliters of blood yield.”

The auditor looked at the account book and continued to ask, "How long is it expected to take to make up for the missing blood tax?"

"It depends on his hematopoietic ability and how much he can produce every day," the blood thief hesitated, then said, "An optimistic estimate is about a week?"

The auditor made a simple calculation and said to Bree, "You need to serve at the blood tax station for two weeks."

Bree's face turned pale and his clothes were soaked with sweat. He knew very well what kind of place the Blood Tax Station was. Staying there for two weeks was a nightmare, but...but if he didn't accept this nightmare, he would probably die here. .

"I agree, I agree!"

"very good."

The debt collector picked up Bri, put his hands on shackles, and dragged him like a prisoner.

When they completely disappeared into the mist, Melissa cautiously poked out of the gap. Recalling the conversation the four had just had, Melissa couldn't help but feel sad for Bree's next fate.

The blood tax station is not a gentle place, on the contrary, it is a cruel execution ground. Those who default on the blood tax always think that they can pay off their debts in the blood tax station, but as the interest rolls over, the blood tax they owe is only It will become more and more until they are consumed in that cage.

When Lucy was young, Lucy's father died like this in a blood tax station. It is said that his body was covered with blood-drawing needles, as if he had been pierced by countless arrows.

Melissa did not see her father for the last time. In order to save money, her mother sold her father's body directly at the blood tax station. Although the body was like a mummy, it didn't have much meat or blood, but it was squeezed out after repeated crushing by machines. , after all, some blood can be drawn out to repay the blood tax.

As for the remaining meat residue and minced meat, they were fed to those violent bloodthirsty people. Those existences were so terrifying that Melissa never dared to look at them.

"Mother……"

Thinking of this, Melissa touched the silver necklace on her chest.

This is a relic left by her mother to her. Apart from her own blood, this is the second most valuable thing in Melissa's body.

Shortly after her father's death, her mother realized that she would never recover from her serious illness. She accepted her own death calmly, or perhaps she had already fallen into despair in this dark world.

In order to make Melissa's life better, she followed her father's old path and took the initiative to donate blood at the blood tax station. After she died due to excessive blood loss, the blood tax officials crushed her mother's body and squeezed it dry just like they did her father. Take advantage of all the value available.

The mother gave all the blood tax she produced to Melissa. Although part of it was deducted by the blood tax officials due to inheritance tax and gift tax, the part that actually went to Melissa was still a The impressive figure is also based on this considerable blood tax. Melissa did not officially start paying the blood tax until this year.

Melissa was an alert and smart child, and her considerable inheritance did not make her feel comfortable. On the contrary, when her body grew a little, Melissa began to try to draw blood by herself, drawing a little bit every day and constantly hoarding it.

At first, because it was not stored properly, the blood that Melissa had accumulated turned smelly and clumped, which made her feel distressed for a while. Later, Melissa became more and more like an adult, drawing blood for herself skillfully, and then stopped coagulation and stored it at low temperature.

With careful calculation, Melissa's debt situation was very healthy. She once thought that she had a chance to grow up.

The fog gradually subsided, and the blurry silhouette became clear. Melissa wrapped her cloth robe tightly around her body. She could smell the smell of blood gradually getting stronger in the air, and waves of low and terrifying roars came one after another.

Under the dark sky, a twisted and stacked building complex stands on the desolate horizon with its strange and frightening beauty. These buildings, made of various materials and shapes, seem to follow an incomprehensible logic. , cleverly combining weirdness and order, chaos and beauty.

The blood people lined up in a long queue under the building like a pilgrim, and the weird building was like a monster, devouring them one by one.

The Blood Tax Station, the core building of the old city, is closely related to the life of every blood citizen.

Melissa looked at the Blood Tax Station curiously. The shapes of these buildings were strange and ever-changing, slender and twisted, like countless floors stacked on top of each other, making people dizzy.

Passing silently through the crowd, Melissa saw the tall figures scattered around the blood tax station. They were monsters called bloodthirsty ones. They were extremely powerful and bloodthirsty. They were wearing indestructible iron armor. In the old city, they are the supreme power, enough to suppress any possible rebellion.

Melissa tried not to look at these monsters. She looked at the blood tax collectors walking through the blood tax station. Finally, she found such a familiar face and leaned over nervously.

"German!"

Devin heard a familiar shout. He stopped and turned around in confusion. He saw a short figure staggering over in the mist.

"Devon! Devin!"

Melissa kept shouting.

"Keep your voice down."

Devon hissed, pulling Melissa aside and trying to shut her up.

"What are you doing here?" Devin looked around to make sure Melissa didn't attract anyone else's attention. "Are you crazy? Other blood tax collectors are not as good-tempered as me."

Melissa laughed softly. Indeed, compared to other blood tax collectors, Devin was as good-tempered as a virgin. This is why Melissa dared to communicate with him.

"I'll pay the blood tax."

Melissa said as she took out a bulging blood bag from the bag.

Devin asked doubtfully, "Didn't you already pay this month?"

Melissa smiled and said, "Pay it in advance. I don't want to be trapped in debt."

Devin looked at Melissa's thin body. He wanted to say some caring words, but when he thought that this was the land of eternal night, any mercy was so pale, he swallowed his words.

"Follow me to get food later, you deserve it."

Blood is not only a tax, but also an exchange item of equal value, which can be exchanged for a large amount of materials at the blood tax station.

"No, I want to change something other than food," Melissa's eyes lit up, "I want to hear stories from outside, Devin."

"A story about your hometown, the Hidden Land."