Chapter 45: Lodeâs Prison Break â Accidentally Looking Cool to Lode and Xie HuaijinâŚ
Jiang Chenyan really wanted to curse. Things definitely weren’t right… but it was already too late.
His vision was first wrapped in a layer of cloth, followed immediately by his consciousness sinking, like falling into a bottomless, ink-colored sea.
It was over.
He only caught a glimpse of a blurry shadow, like a hand reaching out from the darkness to catch his falling awareness.
When he opened his eyes again, heavy darkness still swallowed him.
Jiang Chenyan couldn’t figure it out. This was a branch headquarters, an area under Admiral Celeusâs jurisdiction with strict security. Who would dare touch him here?
The surroundings were so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. He clearly caught his own drum-like heartbeat, and more importantly, not far away, another steady heartbeat was pulsing in sync with his own…
His fingertips instantly tightened around the ice-cold small knife in his pocket. Without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Chenyan lunged toward the direction of the heartbeat. The other person was clearly prepared; following a sharp rustle of fabric, his wrist was firmly pinned.
The two grappled in the darkness, the dull thud of joints colliding and heavy breathing intertwining.
Neither spoke; they just wanted to kill each other.
During the struggle, Jiang Chenyan had a moment of hesitation because the other person’s voice sounded somewhat familiar, but to be safe, he still made his move.
Just as the two were at a standstill, nearly exhausted, a snap echoed as the overhead lights suddenly flickered on.
The moment they lit up, Jiang Chenyanâs pupils contracted.
In his line of sight, he was tangled up with Shen Shiyue. One of Shen Shiyueâs long legs was pinned firmly over his waist and abdomen; their noses were almost touching, and their breathing was completely mingled.
Time froze at this moment. Maintaining this absurd posture, the two of them turned into stone statues.
This was a bit… hard to describe.
After a long while, Jiang Chenyan was the first to break the silence, his tone carrying a trace of unnatural stiffness. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Shen Shiyueâs Adamâs apple rolled. His gaze fell on their interlaced wrists, his voice a bit lower than usual, somewhat raspy. “You didn’t either…”
“Then let go of me.” Jiang Chenyan struggled with his gripped wrist.
Shen Shiyue replied, “Okay.” When his fingers let go, Jiang Chenyan instinctively took half a step back to create some distance.
He immediately looked around. This was a semi-enclosed space, with cement walls several meters high surrounding them. The layout looked exactly like those underground colosseums used for life-and-death spectacles.
“Whatâs going on?” He turned to Shen Shiyue, his tone darkening as he began to analyze carefully. “After the blackout, someone covered my mouth and nose from behind, and I woke up here.”
Shen Shiyue nodded. “Me too. I noticed something was wrong and was about to find you when I was ambushed.”
“In that case, itâs either aimed at us specifically, or…” Jiang Chenyan paused, his expression growing grimmer, “everyone has been hit.”
He instinctively raised his wrist to use his light-brain to contact the outside world, but his fingertips only touched smooth skin. Turning his head, he saw Shen Shiyue also staring at his own empty wrist. Their light-brains had been taken.
“This is Admiral Celeusâs jurisdiction.” Jiang Chenyan walked to the wall and tapped the cold surface. He wasn’t sure if his guess was correct. “Logically speaking, no one would dare cause trouble here. But now…” He turned around, his gaze landing on Shen Shiyue, his voice dropping even lower. “Do you think Admiral Celeus might be the one behind this?”
He thought Shen Shiyue would refute him, but the other only pondered with narrowed eyes for a moment before speaking calmly: “It’s hard to say, but he definitely has some issues.”
As soon as he finished speaking, clear tap-tap sounds came from aboveâthe sound of leather shoes grinding against the rough ground.
The two looked up sharply to see a slender figure appearing at the top of the high wall. Wearing a black mask, he was looking down at them from above.
Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue frowned at the same time, unable to recognize who the person was for a moment.
“Heh…” A low Alpha voice came from behind the mask, dripping with undisguised mockery. “Have you forgotten even me?”
He raised his hand and slowly removed the mask. The familiar face exposed under the light was Lode.
Jiang Chenyan was completely stunned. Lode should have been serving time in the Federation’s highest security prison. How could he be here?
“You broke out of prison?” he blurted out.
The high-security prison was heavily guarded; how did he get out?
Lode let out a low laugh, the smile spreading from the corners of his mouth, but there was no warmth in his eyes, only a sinister chill. “Itâs all thanks to you that Iâve been reduced to this state.”
“However, I forgive you. After all…” He deliberately dragged out his tone, “you won’t be living much longer anyway.”
The resentment in his chest had long since grown into crazed vines, wrapping tightly around him. Everything he once possessed had been personally destroyed by these two people. He knew better than anyone that the disaster at the auction had everything to do with them.
This opportunity was once in a lifetime. He would never let them die quickly; he wanted them to struggle in despair and use the most painful method to take revenge for everything he had lost.
Jiang Chenyan, Shen Shiyue.
Who the hell were they?! Who did they think they were?!
It wasn’t until the moment he was arrested that Lode suddenly remembered who that SS+ grade Omega looked like… No wonder they were so familiar; it turned out to be his junior from the Alliance Military Academy.
“I thought of something fun. Do you want to hear it?” Lode looked down at them with the playfulness of a cat toy with a mouse.
Shen Shiyue and Jiang Chenyanâs expressions were cold; neither of them responded.
Lode didn’t care and continued to himself: “Iâve always been curious what it would look like for the two of you to kill each other.” He paused. “How about this: you two fight each other, and only one can survive. How about it? Whoever wins gets to live.”
Hearing this, both of them frowned at the same time, their expressions becoming even uglier.
Lode sneered and casually tossed two glowing laser swords down from the wall. The crisp clang of metal hitting the ground was particularly piercing in the enclosed space.
“Begin.” A sinister arc curled at the corner of his mouth as he stared fixedly below, waiting to watch the show.
Jiang Chenyan picked up a laser sword without hesitation, his fingertips brushing the cold hilt. He then turned and thrust the other one into Shen Shiyueâs hand. The two exchanged a look and said almost in unison, “Are you dreaming in broad daylight?”
The smile on Lodeâs face froze instantly, and the rage in his chest flared up. “If you don’t choose one, you both die today!”
“Heh,” Jiang Chenyan scoffed. “You kidnapped us to this hellhole just to pay back the suffering you endured tenfold and slowly torture us to death, right? Don’t make it sound so dignified.”
Lode was silent for a moment, then began to laugh lowly, but there was no warmth in that laughter. Instead, it held a bone-chilling coldness.
He looked at the two of them sinisterly. “You’re right. I want to torture you. But more than letting you die quickly, I want to watch you personally push the person you trust most into hell.”
“Since you don’t know whatâs good for you, don’t blame me for being unkind. Don’t think you can stay this synchronized forever.”
Jiang Chenyan frowned, the doubts in his heart growing deeper and deeper. How could Lode possibly know what was happening outside while in prison? He was so certain that he and Shen Shiyue were the ones who destroyed the auction; there must be a powerful force operating behind him, relaying messages and monitoring everything even while he was behind bars.
A sinister smile curled on Lodeâs lips as he slowly raised his hand and clapped twice.
BOOMâ
A loud crash erupted as a stone door on the side slammed open.
A beast with a massive frameâseveral meters taller than themârushed out, only to be yanked back by a thick iron chain around its neck. It could only pace restlessly in place, letting out an ear-splitting roar that made the eardrums ache. Its fur stood on end, and its fangs gleamed coldly under the lights.
Jiang Chenyan suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness wash over him.
Life is not easy; one must cherish it while they can.
He looked down at the laser sword in Shen Shiyueâs hand and murmured, “The power of this laser sword should be okay. Can it cut through that beast’s scales?”
After a moment of hesitation, he tentatively called out in his mind: “System, do you think I’ll die today?”
The long-silent system woke up:
[Absolutely not! You might not have the protagonist’s halo, but the Protagonist Shou does. In this world, no matter who dies, he won’t.]
[Letâs just say, even if the plot has collapsed into a mess, that protagonist’s halo thing is more powerful than you can imagine. Its life-saving ability is maxed out.]
Jiang Chenyanâs mouth twitched, and he could only remain silent toward the air. “…”
Lodeâs eyes flashed with madness as he slammed the switch in his hand. “I gave you a chance. Now, go to hell!”
With a clank, the chain fell from the beastâs neck. The moment its restraints were released, it let out a deafening roar and lunged straight at Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue.
…
On the other side, Xie Huaijin had a belly full of fire with nowhere to release it. He couldn’t contact his teammates, and Jiang Chenyanâs entire team had been missing for ages. He grabbed a passerby and followed the clues, eventually making his way to the colosseum.
After wandering aimlessly for a bit, a tightly locked door caught his attention. Based on the layout, it was likely the surveillance room. With no communication signal, he simply pulled out his gun andâbangâblew the lock open.
The moment he walked into the room, the surveillance footage on the wall made him freeze in place.
On the screen, Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue were locked in a fierce struggle with a giant beast. The cold light of laser swords clashed with the beastâs claws, and the ground was already splattered with patches of blood. The scene was bloody and brutal.
Though the two looked disheveledâtheir clothes torn and faces covered in dustâthey had already identified the beastâs weaknesses and were working with great coordination.
Xie Huaijin instinctively enlarged the screen, his gaze locking onto the figure in the footage.
Jiang Chenyanâs arm had been slashed with a deep wound that exposed the bone. Blood was dripping down his fingertips, yet he didn’t even flinch. He reached back, tore off a piece of fabric from his waist, and wrapped the wound tightly in a few quick motions.
The scent of blood instantly stimulated the beast. It threw its head back with a roar and turned to lunge at Jiang Chenyan.
In the second before the fangs could reach him, Jiang Chenyanâs wrist flicked. With the laser sword tip pointing up, his body slid backward, barely grazing under the beastâs belly. Simultaneously, he applied force to his wrist, and the light blade slashed viciously across the beastâs soft abdomen.
As the sword fell, a few drops of blood splattered across his face.
In that moment, his movements were so fast they were almost a blur. Even in such a state, his sharpness and brilliance couldn’t be hidden.
The moment the laser sword was retracted, the massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Shen Shiyue stepped forward quickly and steadily caught Jiang Chenyan, who was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.
Above the wall, Lode remained standing. The sinister look in his eyes faded slightly, replaced by a trace of complexity.
He slowly raised his hand, rubbed his chin, and whispered to himself, “Indeed… quite impressive.”
The light from the surveillance screen reflected on Xie Huaijinâs face. He pursed his lips, his eyes dark.
He couldn’t describe the feeling. But he had to admit, he seemed to be attracted to Jiang Chenyan. The feeling was sudden and surging, like a carefully concocted poison. Knowing it was dangerous, it still made his heart burn.
Looking at Lode, the guy probably wanted to kill Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue.
What a pity…
…
Should he intervene?
Perhaps not. It wouldn’t hurt to keep watching.
Jiang Chenyan leaned on Shen Shiyueâs arm, his chest heaving. He and Shen Shiyue had long since exhausted their strength in the fight with the beast; even the hands holding their swords were trembling slightly.
Just as the two were barely holding on, Lode on the high wall suddenly laughed. “You didn’t think there was only one, did you?”
Jiang Chenyanâs throat tightened. He was speechless for a moment and could only stare deathly at Lode.
“You blocked the path, so you must die.” Lodeâs smile vanished. “But Iâm rarely merciful. Iâll give you some time. If you have any last words, go ahead.”
Jiang Chenyan panted, then suddenly looked up at Lode. “Can we say them privately?”
Shen Shiyue: “Indeed. Saying last words in front of you…”
Jiang Chenyan: “…is a bit awkward.”
Lode: “…”
The two then huddled together, heads bent as they whispered. Their muffled words drifted in the air, but not a single sentence was clear enough for Lode to hear.
Lode waited patiently for a moment, but he only felt like he was being treated as thin air. Rage instantly surged, and he slammed the switch. “Timeâs up. Go to hell, both of you.”
The gate opened again, and a beast charged out with a low growl. But just as it was about to pounce on the two of them, it suddenly stopped. Its once-ferocious eyes were instantly filled with terror. It let out a whimper toward Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue, then tucked its tail and retreated.
Lodeâs face darkened. Unbelieving, he slammed several switches in succession. Several more beasts rushed out one after another, but without exception, as soon as they approached the two, they began to tremble in fear from some invisible intimidation. They didn’t even dare to make a sound.
Watching this eerie scene, Jiang Chenyanâs mouth twitched. “…”
Shen Shiyue: “?”
Jiang Chenyan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Don’t tell him this was the effect of the protagonist’s halo being emitted.
Lode didn’t believe in the supernatural. He immediately picked up a laser gun and sneered, “Heh.”
These two had to die today.
He aimed at Jiang Chenyan.
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