章 286: Chapter 286: Experiment?
"Oh, so you weren't capturing children to train them to steal and scam for resources in the big city?" Gin Ichimaru squinted his eyes as he asked.
"How could we? The local gangs there would kill us," the square-faced man replied indifferently.
Invading someone else's territory would get them killed, especially since they were confined to the villages.
If they had the ability, they would have already become city people, moving to safer cities, rather than being stuck in such a far-flung area of Rukongai.
"How many children have been captured?"
"A dozen or so."
"None of them came out?"
"No."
"Have you ever looked inside?"
"No, Urahana Jiro warned us not to go near that area."
"Oh…"
H'el continued eating the meat pie and vegetable stew, controlling the harmonious movement of his spiritual energy and body. He efficiently broke down the stew's nutrients to supply the necessary energy to his body, while listening to the conversation between Gin and the square-faced man. He also found it a bit strange.
It seemed that Urahana was capturing children for a different purpose.
Eighty percent of the stew went into H'el's stomach, which didn't show any signs of fullness.
Rangiku's stomach was so full that she burped occasionally, lying on the ground with a satisfied expression. She had never felt so full before and was very happy.
Gin, having finished his soup, squinted at H'el.
"Take me to the back village cellar," H'el said as he stood up and walked to the weapon rack to pick up Sakura.
The long katana of Urahana Jiro and Sakura felt almost the same in H'el's hands. Finding Sakura more comfortable, he chose it and walked out of Urahana's headquarters.
Outside, the henchmen straightened their bodies and bowed deeply to H'el, loudly greeting him.
Despite H'el's short stature of about 1.2 meters, none of the henchmen dared to bow higher than him, fearing his displeasure. They bowed so low their heads almost touched the ground.
H'el had already proven his strength. Those who underestimated him were dead.
The rest were sensible enough to show respect.
Gin also picked up the long katana from the rack and followed H'el outside.
Rangiku, lying on the ground, dared not stay there. Just moments ago, Urahana Jiro was lying dead there, and they had eaten stew beside his body. This was still Urahana's main hall. She feared that staying behind might get her killed, so she quickly got up and followed H'el out of the headquarters.
The square-faced man led the way, taking H'el, Gin, and Rangiku to the back village cellar.
As they passed by the surrounding houses, people inside peeked through windows and door cracks, watching H'el and his group heading towards the back village. Once they were out of sight, whispers began to rise.
"The boss of the Urahana gang seems to be dead."
"How can that be? He was really strong."
"He's dead. I saw his henchmen carrying out his corpse."
"A kid killed him. I saw the gang members calling the kid boss."
"Good riddance. Where's Urahana Jiro's body? I want to eat his flesh." (A/N: Woah woah!)
"That kid is really something."
"Watch your mouth. Dare to call him a kid? Show some respect and call him Sir."
The square-faced man led H'el and the others through the village for a while. The houses became increasingly sparse until there were none. They arrived at a place that looked like a pigsty. The surroundings were devoid of birds and insects, eerily quiet.
"This should be the place," the square-faced man said, looking somewhat puzzled. He had never been close to this spot and didn't know how to access the cellar.
Every time, it was Urahana Jiro who personally brought the children here, never allowing his subordinates near.
"Over there," H'el said, sniffing faint traces of foul blood. He slightly enhanced his sense of smell with spiritual energy. The pungent, metallic scent of blood flooded his nose, causing him to frown. He nodded towards the right direction.
The square-faced man understood and led them to a large wooden board with a pull ring. Realizing it was the entrance, he pulled the board open.
A stifling, humid, putrid, and intensely bloody smell rushed out, assaulting their senses and making everyone frown deeply.
It was clear that the captured children did not meet a good end.
After the smell dissipated slightly, they descended the steps into the cellar. H'el estimated the distance as they went down, roughly seventy meters deep, until they encountered a steel-barred gate.
Interestingly, the walls were lined with a type of vine that emitted a faint glow, providing enough light to see the dim surroundings.
H'el drew his sword. In the dim light, the blade flashed, and with a sharp clang, he sheathed it again. The steel bars in front of them were cut cleanly, the smooth slices falling to the ground.
The smell here grew more intense and unbearable for ordinary people.
Even Gin Ichimaru couldn't help but frown.
Rangiku Matsumoto, with her recently filled stomach, felt nauseated by the odor entering through her nose. She pinched her nose tightly, her brows furrowed deeply.
H'el led the way inside.
On both sides were small cells, resembling prison cells, enclosed with iron bars. Various excrements piled up within, filling the poorly ventilated space with a nauseating stench.
H'el's brows knitted tightly as his eyes scanned the surroundings while he walked forward.
His vision was good enough to see by the faint glow emitted by the vines on the walls. He could make out a dim room at the far end, from which the overwhelming smell of blood emanated.
H'el moved towards the room at the end.
Chitter-chatter, wailing, sobbing, crying
The sounds of numerous children's terrified cries and screams suddenly erupted.
A creature resembling a spider, with dozens of limbs that were the small hands and feet of children, emerged. The spider's body was a grotesque amalgamation of children's torsos, and its face was a hideous, twisted mask of numerous fearful and terrified child faces, fused into one ghastly visage. The cacophony of children's voices came from this monstrous face.
This spider made of children scurried along the ceiling, its joints twisting like a contorted puppet, crawling rapidly towards H'el and his group while emitting a grating, chaotic noise.
'It's a Hollow!' H'el's heart was filled with dread.
Clearly, someone had been capturing children to conduct Hollow experiments.
The number of people capable of conducting Hollow experiments in the Soul Society was very limited.
And considering it was near Gin Ichimaru and Rangiku Matsumoto's area, there was only one man it could be.
°°°
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