Heaven Awaits in Hell

155 was a man in his late twenties. Like most miners in here, he too had long, untidy hair and a rough beard.

Taking a seat at his spot, he said, "Stop standing and sit down here."

He gestured towards the dirty ground in front of him. After they had taken their seats, 155 began his explanation.

"I'll keep it short since I, too, need to rest like my seven mates there,"

155 pointed at his seven mates who were long asleep because of tiredness and continued, "Tomorrow morning we'll wake up at around six and by seven we'll move to the collection area. In the morning, that's where food and water are distributed.

Don't expect much as you'll only be given one piece of hard bread the size of your fist, but that's not important. What's more important is water. It's the only time throughout the day that you will get water.

Just take the bread and shove it in your trousers pockets, and focus on filling your stomach with water. Otherwise, you'll barely manage to survive for a day…"

155 continued on for almost twenty minutes.

Zion's face became grimmer by the second as he heard 155's explanation.

'Will I ever be able to get out of here…' his earlier hopes of escaping from this place kept decreasing the more he heard 155.

"…lastly, don't you dare try to absorb even the slightest amount of Qi from your surroundings" 155 looked at them in seriousness, "Those black bracelets on your wrists are not just mere bracelets but spiritual artefacts with sentience.

Since it has already absorbed all the Qi in your body, the moment it senses new Qi entering, it will suck all your blood, flesh and bone and leave nothing behind.

As someone who has witnessed those deaths several times, I'll tell you that it's one of the most painful ways of dying."

Dread was apparent on 155's face as he finished those words.

 The ones who wanted to test the waters and absorb Qi later were filled with a sense of despondency after hearing it. They finally realised that there was no way to escape this hellhole.

'Wait, the ring prevented my Qi from getting absorbed, so does that mean…' Zion's eyes glimmered with hope.

"Alright, go sleep now. Tomorrow's going to be a long day for the ten of you," 155 told them before lying down on his spot. He had been struggling to keep himself awake.

They all soon picked up a spot and lay down.

Zion lay on his back and interlocked his fingers behind his head. With his head resting on his palm, it felt much better compared to the stony ground.

He stared at the ceiling with a variety of thoughts going around in his mind as he waited. Waited for everyone to go to sleep.

An hour later, noticing everyone's steady breaths, Zion silently crossed his legs and sat in a lotus position.

'My assumption could be wrong, and I might end up dead the very next moment…but even so, I have to do this. I refuse to stay here all my life.'

With a determined expression, Zion closed his eyes and started absorbing Qi.

To his surprise, Qi here was almost ten times as dense as it was in the forest, which further increased his absorption rate.

'This is it!' Zion thought in excitement and hungrily devoured all the Qi that he could.

Three hours passed. Zion's Qi reserve was half filled.

A desire to practice the whole night and completely fill his Qi reserve entered his mind, but he quashed it and opened his eyes the next moment.

He needed to catch some sleep for tomorrow.

'I'll complete the first stage tomorrow.' With a goal set in his mind, Zion closed his eyes and sleep soon set in.

Hours passed, and morning arrived.

"216! Wake up!" An immature voice entered Zion's ears and stirred him awake.

When his eyes regained focus, he noticed a fifteen-year-old boy and the number that was imprinted on his chest.

'215…' He thought.

"It's six, let's go or we'll get behind," 215 said in a worried tone. Being the youngest, he was tasked by 155 to wake up Zion, who was still sleeping soundly.

"…Yes, let's go," Zion was reminded of everything that had happened yesterday and nodded. Standing up, he went along with others to relieve himself.

When they entered the side tunnel, a foul smell entered their nostrils, and many people doing their business became visible. Pits were dug at many spots, and a shovel was beside each of them.

"Just don't think much and finish your business. Remember to cover it up with dirt later," 155 told them and went to an empty spot. Not minding their gaze, he removed his trousers and began with his business.

Shame was an emotion felt by humans. They had long lost that identity, and so didn't care about such things.

"THIS….so disgusting," 215 muttered under his breath as tears started trickling down his face.

Seeing this, Zion patted his back lightly, "You'll have to get used to it sooner or later."

Zion said and walked towards an empty pit and began his business.

215 hesitated a bit, but he soon gathered up his courage and walked towards a pit.

By seven, everyone left the tunnel vein and was walking towards the collection area. Zion saw many other people also emerging from different veins, and then they congregated with them to form a single line.

Soon, around two hundred miners were gathered in the collection area.

Near the gate that separated the guard's residential complex from the collection area, several guards stood behind a long table.

Lines of miners stood behind them for the food distribution to start.

Several boxes full of bread finally arrived, and the guards handed them out to the miners one by one, making sure that no one got more than a single piece.

Zion grabbed his bread, and a furrow appeared on his face when he felt how hard and dry the bread was.

"Buzz off quickly," The guard, seeing that Zion was still standing there, groaned.

Zion obeyed.

Placing the bread in his pocket, he soon joined another line. They were lined up to drink water.

One by one, to line shortened, and it was finally Zion's turn.

He looked at the metallic tank holding water and picked up the nearby glass.

Upon opening the nozzle, murky brown water came through it. A revolting expression formed on his face, but he gritted his teeth and, just like everyone else, washed as much water as possible down his throat.