2 Captured

"How?" Iris asked.

"The ride we were in got stuck in one of the attraction's rooms….Then an announcement sounded, warning all the guests that armed criminals had entered the park. I believe those people planted a bomb since there was an explosion from beneath our ride. It all happened within minutes."

"Why would anyone target an amusement park of all places?"

Jae shrugged in response, "I don't know, but right now, we need to find a way to get out of here."

The two began to search their cell for anything useful while relocating the other children. None woke up in spite of being rolled around and piled in the corner. Although Jae uncovered a nail, he was not tall enough to reach the lock to pick at it. Disregarding his aching body, Jae supported Iris on his shoulders to give her a try, but she failed.

Step. Step. Heavy footsteps approached from outside the room. In a hurry, Jae pulled Iris down.

"Someone's coming," he whispered as the two lay down to camouflage with the rest of the sleeping children. Their eyes never left the door.

Creak. The door slowly opened, revealing a man with a scar across his cheek. He opened the jail door just enough to drop a basket. Quickly closing the door, the man left.

The two waited for a couple of minutes just in case the man would return. Afterward, they approached the basket and found out it was filled with bread.

"Is it poisoned?" Iris asked.

"Not sure, but why waste food to kill us instead of waiting for us to starve to death? I'd much rather die eating poison with my stomach filled than die of starvation," Jae nonchalantly took a piece and started eating. The bread was dry and tasteless.

"Sounds reasonable enough, but I'm going to see if any symptoms occur in you before taking a bite."

"Suit yourself."

After eating, Jae advised that they wait until the rest of the children are awake so they can use their numbers to overwhelm the man the next time he comes back. Assuming the unlikely scenario that he doesn't, Iris suggested that they try picking the lock again. Silence returned to the room.

An hour later, a child awoke, completely confused as to why she was buried under a mountain of lolis.

Jae and Iris introduced themselves and explained the current situation. The child was called Nora Cheng as Iris realized that Nora was one of her classmates that was in the ride with her.

"So, you two were in the seats behind me. Since there were twelve people on the ride and twelve children here, I would assume that we all transmigrated into bodies of children," Nora deduced.

"Nora, you're surprisingly calm about this."

"Well, I'm well-versed in light novels, manga, anime, and the otaku culture so I can somewhat understand the situation we're in."

Nora crossed her arms and pondered for a moment. "I remember that other than your friend over there, the people who were on the ride were from the same school as Iris and I."

Jae recalled that Iris and his other friend, Scarlett, went to a prestigious all-girls high school while he stayed at a public school near his home. Since both schools were nearby the amusement park, the schools received a discount for field trips there. It was truly a coincidence for Jae and Iris to their graduation field trips on the same day, so they decided to meet up.

Sure enough, when the rest of the children woke up, Jae and Iris confirmed that Nora was correct.

"I-I died?"

"My life was finally turning over a new leaf…"

"What! The! H***!" A girl screeched as she roughly seized Nora's head and shook her as she explained their transmigration.

"Scarlett~! Calm down~!"

"I refuse!"

Only after a stoic-looking girl kicked the screaming girl called Scarlett did she let go of Nora as Nora dizzily plopped down on the floor.

"Oh my lord! Scarlett! Don't take your aggression on poor Nora!"

In a corner with bread in hand, Jae watched the spectacle of lolis shouting, crying, and fighting each other. Unlike the rest, he seemed far more injured from old wounds. It was truly wise of him to not get involved in the cat fight.

Clap.

Clap.

Hearing familiar claps, the mad lolis calmed down as all their eyes turned to a single girl.

"Everyone, I know you all are confused and scared. However, we need to stay focused and get out of here. Otherwise, we may meet our true end." This girl was Jade Hargraves, the student council president of Iris's school.

"I would rawther die than lishhten to you," a harsh tone came from a girl who tried being imposing, but her lisp made her sound charming. She appeared the youngest out of the children.

Jade sighed, "Clara, please don't bring personal grudges into the conversation. We need everyone to work together to even have a chance of getting out. Furthermore, all of our bodies alone are far too weak to overcome a grown man. We don't even know if there are more people out there."

Clara puffed her cheeks endearingly but said nothing to retort.

Standing up, Jae sighed, "Well then, shall we begin?"

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Walking down the stairway to the underground prison, a man with a large scar held a bag filled with handcuffs. He was the same man who gave food to the children, not out of kindness, but because it was his job to ensure the survival of his goods. As a human trafficker, his job was at high risk, yet high in pay during times like these, especially when human slavery was illegal along with making deals with "them".

Recently, he found a large number of children hiding out in a long deserted orphanage. Imagining the profits he could obtain for selling human children, he kidnapped them and brought them to his hideout.

Hoping for this to be the last job undertaken before finding a different one, he enters the room and sees the children are still asleep. Worried that his goods have perished, he opened the cell door. As he crept closer to the children, a shadow stabbed him in the calf from below.

"Argh!"

Using the time the man was tipping over, several shadows pulled on his legs to make the man fall over. One even kicked the man at the crotch as he was down.

"Run!" yelled Jae as the children scrambled away from the fallen man. On the way out, one of the children snatched the keys the man dropped.

Unfortunately, that was not enough to incapacitate the man for long, but enough time was earned for all of the children to run out the cell and trap the man inside by borrowing each other's shoulders to reach the lock.

"Etuoghe etsio!"

Although unfamiliar words flowed out of the man's mouth, Jae could easily tell that those were curses. The children ran toward the door. However, what happened next was out of anyone's expectation.

With barely any visible effort, the man used his bare hands to grasp the prison door as it twisted like pretzels. He then took a slip of paper out of his pocket, recited a line, and ripped it. A glow erupted from his hands and flew towards the children's bodies.

Jae was about to open the door, but he never did. His body could not move. And neither can any of the other children. It was as if time stopped.

"Wien eifu hglso!" the man swiped his hand as the children levitated up and were relentlessly slammed back into the cell.

Instead of being worried about being back in jail, there was only one word Jae thought of as his consciousness faded away.

Magic.

--------

Regrettably, there were no other opportunities to escape as the children were tied up and taken away by a group who wore masks made of a variety of animal skulls and cloaks.

From then on began the children's lives as research subjects. It was as if their lives were worth less than garbage. No matter how loud their screams were nor their incessant cries for sympathy, those cold eyes never gave a glance. The beings of this facility only cared about the results of their experiments.

When they fainted, they were experimented on. Even when they were bleeding or close to death, the experiments continued. There were no breaks for rest or food since a strange syringe filled with unknown chemicals sufficed. Their bodies were exploited without rest.

However, that was only the beginning of their hell.