As soon as I moved, the rats cautiously backed away a few steps, but they didn't run away, as though they knew I was so weak that I didn't even have the strength to drive them away.
The iron door creaked open and a man with a brutish face threw a bowl of spoiled food into the room.
"Eat it. Don't starve to death. Mike said, you still have debts to repay."
A hoarse, desperate sound escaped from my throat as I shook my head with all my might.
I didn't gamble.
And I certainly didn't owe any debts.
The man frowned impatiently.
"What other tricks do you want to play?"
I tremblingly extended my deformed fingers, dipping them in the water on the ground. With all the strength I had left, I managed to scrawl in crooked letters on the cement floor. "I am Mike's fiancee."
The man stared at the words on the ground, then suddenly burst into laughter, as if hearing the biggest joke of his life.
"You? Mike's fiancee?"
He took out his phone and started a livestream, holding it in front of me.
"Open your eyes wide and take a good look. Mike's wedding is about to begin and I don't know how many lives you have to pretend to be Mike's fiancee!"