I had a dream I was drowning. Cold water filled my lungs, burning my insides so badly I couldn’t stop coughing.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself upside down in the back of a vehicle with my hands tied. An expressionless man was pouring mineral water on my face.
I struggled violently but the man held me down and barked, "Don't move!"
At this moment, the vehicle stopped and I was dragged out of the vehicle by the man. There were two other cars. When the Dog Trainer alighted from one, his ‘dog’ helped him put on his coat. We appeared to be in the outskirts of the city. There was a factory ahead, though it didn’t look abandoned. The machines inside were still running, making noises so loud they deafened the ears.
At the Dog Trainer’s command, several men pushed me forward.
When we entered the factory, the guard bowed his head respectfully to the Dog Trainer, and so did the workers busy working on the assembly line. They stopped what they were doing at once and stood in two rows like servants, bowing their heads to the Dog Trainer...
So these were all the Dog Trainer’s subordinates. He had purchased a processing factory as his hiding place. No matter how the police investigated, they wouldn't have imagined that all the people working here were his ‘dogs.’
We walked through the workshop and arrived at a door. Below was a ladder leading downstairs to a warehouse where they stored human beings instead of goods.
Many cement compartments were built on both sides, welded with iron railings. The compartments were so small it was impossible for a person to stand up straight, so they could only lie down like dogs.
I saw a naked man or woman in every compartment, and the air was filled with the stench of the living. As we passed these compartments, people screamed, "Master, let me out!"
"I will kill you! I will kill you!"
"I’ll do anything you ask, just let me out please!"
"I'm hungry. Let me eat something, please!"
This heart-rending begging and cursing made me tremble all over but the Dog Trainer seemed intoxicated by it as if listening to moving music. "What beautiful voices,” he sighed. “Nothing stirs me more than the servility hidden in each human!"
"Fucking psycho!” I cursed.
The Dog Trainer stopped in front of a compartment where a woman lay in a pool of blood, still bleeding. Her wrists were bloody and her mouth was stained with blood. It turned out she killed herself by biting off her blood vessels with her teeth.
The Dog Trainer asked, "What's going on here?"
An old hunchback walked over and said, "Master, I'm sorry. This is due to my oversight."
The Dog Trainer glared at the old man, "Get rid of the body quickly. Don't affect the health of the other dogs. As for you... You should know the punishment for losing a dog. You know what to do."
The old man shrank, "Yes, Master!"
Looking at the body, I thought to myself, Perhaps this is what will become of me in the near future. I would rather die than surrender to him.
We entered a door and passed a long corridor, then came to a white room. There was a mirror on one of the ceramic tile walls resembling those in interrogation rooms and a chill in the air.
The Dog Trainer gestured towards the door, "Clean him up!"
His men dragged me in and began to strip me. With a heart of shame, I slammed my forehead against one of them in the face, causing the man to bleed from his nose. In retaliation, he slammed his fist into my face.
Falling to my knees, I felt a gush of warm blood on my lips. I must’ve knocked my teeth against them.
Right then, a thunderous noise filled the room, the echoes lasting for some time. The man who raised his fist against me fell to the ground limply, his eyes wide open, eyes staring into nothingness and a hole in his forehead.
The others were frightened. Meanwhile, the Dog Trainer who fired the shot stood at the door, voice cold as he warned, "Don't hurt Song Yang. Any one of his fingers is worth more than your life. Got it?"
The men nodded desperately, and the Dog Trainer added, "Song Yang, if there’s any kindness left in you, don't resist. Because these people are all victims in your own words."
"You won’t be standing for long!" I roared at the Dog Trainer.
"You can say whatever you want. I’m used to it,” he smiled. “Alright, get back to work."
They continued to remove my clothes. Just as my pants were taken off, I suddenly reached and grabbed something, stuffing it into my mouth. As soon as the others noticed my actions, they knocked it out of my hand.
Seeing the tracker that had fallen to the ground, the Dog Trainer sneered, "What a naughty boy!” Then, he crushed it with his foot.
After stripping me naked, they dragged away the body on the ground. Standing naked in front of the Dog Trainer, a great sense of shame filled my heart. I knew that this was only the first step in shattering a person's dignity, and there were even more unbearable tortures waiting for me.
One of the men turned on the high-pressure water jet and glistening water shot towards me, knocking me down like a fist. I used both hands to block the oncoming water but my whole body was soon dripping wet, leaving me trembling from the cold.
"Just kill me!" I shouted in indignation.
"Tsk, tsk! Dogs should be treated like dogs. Have you ever seen a dog dressed in clothes?" the Dog Trainer laughed.
After washing me, a woman with short hair came into the room and dried my body with a towel. Finally, she placed a dog collar around my neck. I struggled hard but the woman was so strong she twisted my joints, making me tear up in pain.
Then she handed the chain to the Dog Trainer who patted her on the shoulder and turned to me, "Do you know who she is?"
I stared at him angrily, saying nothing.
"Duan Yunjie used to be a policewoman. In one of the missions to capture me, she failed and is now completely loyal to me. This is your future!"
I stared at her cold face and vaguely recognized the shadow of Xiaotao in her. If Xiaotao was forced to suffer such humiliation, I didn’t know what I would do.
"Song Yang, I’m a man who likes to give people opportunities. Now, if you kneel, crawl up to me, and call me master, I’ll make things easier for you. But if you refuse, there will be worse things waiting for you. I will destroy your will little by little!"
"Go fuck yourself!" I shouted.
The Dog Trainer sneered, “I like headstrong! Remember, this is the choice you made."
He jerked the chain, forcing me to stagger forward as I was dragged out of the room by him.
I was led by him like a dog. No one could protect me now and I had to rely completely on willpower.
I am Song Yang and I am my own master! I am Song Yang and I am my own master! I desperately repeated.
I was taken to a little dark room with an X-shaped wooden cross complete with leather fasteners used for binding. It was covered with a thick layer of human sebum due to long-term use.
The Dog Trainer ordered his men, "Tie him up!” Then, turning to me, he smiled, “This will be an experience you’ll never forget!"