TYMIMA Chapter 130

Time ticked by, and hunger surged.

A bowl of cold cassava soup was dumped into the cell in a battered aluminum basin, as if throwing out trash.

The white soup sloshed, with mushy chunks of cassava floating in it.

From the neighboring cells came urgent commotion—prisoners pressed themselves against the bars, cupping the cassava soup in their hands, slurping it down ravenously.

“Quiet! Fucking animals!” The guard banged the bars with a rare lead ore baton, echoing through the corridor.

“If you fucking drop it on the floor, I’ll make you lick it clean with your tongue!”

The guard cursed, and then came the dull thud of the baton hitting someone’s back. A prisoner yelped and scurried away like a rat fleeing the light.

Lucas was pale, cold sweat soaking his back. Si Hongche had dislocated his arms, leaving them so numb with pain he couldn’t even lift them to pick up the aluminum basin.

Not that he wanted to.

He pressed the back of his head hard against the wall, trying to relieve the pain. Water from a pipe seeped through a crack, wetting his hair—he hadn’t been this wretched in a long time.

Damn it, maybe he wasn’t beaten enough as a kid.

No wonder Adrian was always so calm and reserved, just giving him medicine and massages, then dragging him off to study.

Studying, studying, studying—gave him a headache!

Just a cheap adopted brother, not even his dad. Instead of wasting time on a born troublemaker like him, he should have scattered Howard’s ashes for the good of the people.

Lucas’s legs were numb from lack of blood. He shifted, pain making his veins bulge.

Annoying, annoying, annoying! He hated having a brother! Why do people even need brothers?

At the end of his rope, unable to fulfill his vow to kill Adrian—what a fucking regret!

He took a few quick breaths, blood slowly returning to his legs, the ache easing.

Forget it, guess Adrian’s just lucky. That guy’s always been lucky.

An orphan adopted by the Howard family, growing up to be an elite despite living with a maniac, getting away with everything and rising to be a Ghost Eye Guild executive.

Lucas thought fuzzily, trying to distract himself from the pain.

He wondered if the boss had enough money before escaping.

With the boss’s business sense, a few slick tricks and scams, he’d probably bounce back in no time.

Lan Qi loved dressing up—she probably wouldn’t want to leave Gangtan. The humid weather was good for her skin.

But with her looks, she’d have no trouble finding a new blondie anywhere.

At least he’d never have to be forced into fuzzy pajamas again!

Sigh, Duma, that little robot brain, probably wouldn’t understand why everyone was moving. His Legos probably couldn’t all come with him. He’d pout, but probably wouldn’t cry—he still hadn’t learned how.

Hmm… maybe Duma would wonder where he’d gone, maybe even search for him online. Better not—he didn’t look good now. He hoped Duma would remember his cool clown makeup as their last meeting.

Fata was still working on tasty medicine for him, but after more than a hundred tries, each batch was worse than the last. He wouldn’t get to eat it anymore, but hopefully Fata would stop trying—everyone should taste that suffering at least once.

Lucas thought darkly.

Abaddon is truly a rare honest person among their group, although in recent years he’s started picking up some bad habits from the rest.

Hope Abaddon remembers to bring a few of his face-painting crayons or those gothic figurines he collects when he escapes.

During the holidays, they could even use those things to summon his spirit and play mahjong together.

What to do about Lily, this chuunibyou little loli?

As one of the Black Lantern Society cadres, she’ll probably have to bid farewell to Star University forever.

But even though he’d been disguising himself as Lily’s physics teacher for so many years, he stubbornly never managed to explain a single problem clearly to Lily. The two of them basically just stared at the questions together with confused expressions.

Lily probably wouldn’t pass the entrance exam anyway, so there’s nothing to regret.

Oh right! The most honest one isn’t Abaddon anymore, but Oliver. He’d never seen anyone more purely good than Oliver—even if Guanyin Bodhisattva herself came down, she’d have to say she couldn’t compare.

He hoped Oliver would never be caught by Si Hongche, and could live peacefully and low-key. After all, there aren’t many good people left in this world.

The one he worried about least was the young master. He’d never seen a human so ruthlessly cunning and scheming.

He hoped Lance had already flown away with that chatterbox Alpha to live happily ever after.

Haha, just thinking about that little idiot’s clear, innocent eyes made him want to laugh. What kind of lovesick brain would believe in a “laboring sister” and “broken-legged father”?

Lucas indulged in mocking thoughts for a while, feeling his body hurt a bit less.

These seemed to be all the people worth caring about.

Actually, this broken world wasn’t much to speak of. He’d experienced enough, had enough fun—leaving now would be pretty good too. He wouldn’t come back in the next life.

He looked up at the pitch-black, damp ceiling. Though he couldn’t see the sky here, and there were no Buddhist shrines or divine statues, he still prayed sincerely that news of his death would spread quickly.

He loved freedom and hated troubling others. He definitely didn’t want to become a burden or worry for the Black Lantern Society during their escape.

Let him settle this matter himself.

The prisoner in the neighboring cell had already quickly finished an entire bowl of cassava.

The cassava was just boiled in plain water with salt—no flavor, no nutrition, barely enough to fill one’s stomach. Eating it for too long would make fingernails and teeth loosen, and eye sockets would sink in.

The prisoner pressed against the small opening in the wall, looking toward Lucas’s cell. That bloody corpse was still piled in the corner—no one cleaned it up, no one cared.

Lucas sat with his eyes closed, leaning against the wall. He hadn’t touched his bowl of cassava soup at all.

The prisoner stared covetously at Lucas’s cassava soup, constantly swallowing saliva. Speaking in some unidentifiable accent, he asked: “You’re not eating?”

“Not eating.” Lucas hummed two words through his nose.

“You can’t survive without eating.”

“Who cares about surviving.” Lucas forced his lips into a curve, completely indifferent.

“How about you give it to me then?”

“No.” Lucas ruthlessly crushed the prisoner’s hopes.

That’s just the kind of selfish, nasty person he was—even if he didn’t need something anymore, he wouldn’t give charity to anyone.

The guard was attracted by their voices and walked over, raising his baton to beat the prisoner mercilessly: “No talking! Get back!”

The prisoner covered his head and retreated with wails and howls.

The guard then walked to Lucas’s cell and glanced at the untouched bowl of cassava.

He sneered and used his baton to forcefully jab at Lucas’s stomach: “Hunger strike? Want to die? Dream on! You won’t die until you give up your Black Lantern Society accomplices!”

“Ugh…” Lucas painfully doubled over. The stick pounded his lower abdomen, ribs, and stomach cavity, making his internal organs feel displaced. His nerves spasmed with pain, and acid rose in his throat.

However, even in this pain, he didn’t miss the guard’s words. He lifted his eyelids and stared at the guard with a sinister look: “You said… give them up?”

He had clearly already given them up—he couldn’t resist Si Hongche’s [Absolute Obedience].

“Ah, I forgot, you don’t know.” The guard deliberately jabbed hard at Lucas’s most vulnerable lower abdomen, enjoying watching the once-famous Mad Clown dodge before him. “Too bad, after working so hard for so many years, you didn’t even manage to get any dirt on the organization. I don’t think they’ll come to rescue you either.”

Lucas felt a dull pain in his lower abdomen, but hearing the guard’s words, he began to laugh softly. He laughed until his whole body trembled, gradually becoming unrestrained: “Hahahahahaha so…”

So Si Hongche hadn’t truthfully reported the interrogation results. So the Federation government was also scheming against each other, deceiving superiors and subordinates alike.

The guard saw his crazed appearance and felt a chill, cursing: “What a lunatic!”

He stopped beating and walked away with his baton.

“…Hahahahahaha!” Lucas looked at the guard’s retreating figure and laughed wildly. His arms hung powerlessly, his abdominal muscles twitched, burning hot. His body curled up like a shrimp.

The prisoner crawled over again, pressing against the wall to ask: “Hey, will the Black Lantern Society really come to rescue you?”

Lucas’s eyelashes trembled.

Prisoner: “Are you still going to eat that cassava?”

Lucas suddenly dragged his legs, struggling to crawl toward the aluminum basin on the ground. Moving his arms made his vision go black with pain, and his lower abdomen couldn’t exert any strength, but he still managed to crawl to the cell door, bent down, buried his head in the basin, and frantically chewed and swallowed the cassava.

No, no, no!

If nothing was exposed, Lance must have set out—they must already be coming to rescue him!

He knew this bunch too well. With nothing else to do, they’d definitely come join this excitement. He could already imagine Lance arranging the plan.

How annoying—they wouldn’t even let him die in peace!

Lucas ate desperately, letting the cassava enter his stomach, fill his empty stomach cavity, and provide him with the most basic calories.

He’d never eaten such terrible food. Good thing he’d eaten so much of Fata’s medicine before, or he really couldn’t have swallowed it!

He managed to finish the entire bowl of cassava, then lay flat on the ground, trying to minimize his body’s energy consumption.

He looked at the pitch-black ceiling again and thought: Hey, I can’t leave this time, because even someone like me has friends who’ll come to the rescue.

Beep beep…

[Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service. Please try again later.]

On a pale polar day, the car drove steadily on the snow. Snow-capped mountains and wooden houses flashed by on both sides, but the phone calls just wouldn’t go through.

The air conditioning blew warm air, white frost hung on the glass windows on both sides. Adrian looked down at his phone, his brow furrowing bit by bit.

Ling Qi: “Supervisor, what’s going on? I can’t get through to Popov either.”

Fulunla: “Mudeli’s not answering either. What the hell are they doing?”

Wu Peng: “Young Madam’s video call won’t connect either. It says the other party has poor signal. Could something have happened?”

Adrian pondered for a moment, closed his phone, and asked the driver: “How much longer to Samp Town?”

Driver: “Oh, about an hour more. Almost there. I’m already going as fast as I can for you folks. Any faster and we’d crash.”

Fulunla: “Thank you, master, but is the signal bad on your end?”

The driver scratched his head: “I’m not from Samp Town, so I don’t really know, but I don’t think I’ve heard of that before.”

Adrian looked out the window.

It shouldn’t be that something happened.

The nine who arrived first were elite enough. No matter what, they wouldn’t all lose contact simultaneously, and Lance’s ability was practically a bug—no one could put him in danger.

So it could only be a signal problem.

With heavy snow here, remote location, and sparse population, it was understandable that signal towers couldn’t handle the load.

In any case, they were almost there. Once they arrived, they’d know everything.

Meanwhile, Zhan Pingchuan drove at full speed, rushing into the town center and stopping in front of the inn.

As soon as the car stopped, Oliver pulled Atiya out, while Zhan Pingchuan continued rushing toward the outskirts of Samp Town with Lance.

Oliver immediately ran into the inn after getting out of the car, and ran straight into Dream Witch, who was coming downstairs to make coffee.

Seeing the little golden retriever, Dream Witch enthusiastically complained: “The signal here is really terrible. I’ve been trying to contact you all but couldn’t get through… wait, who’s this kid?”

Dream Witch looked at Atiya, who had waxy yellow skin, was short in stature, and was obviously malnourished.

Oliver gripped Dream Witch’s wrist tightly, his expression unusually grave: “Lan Qi, Samp Town has radioactive materials. We’re all marked now. This child is from Utopia. She’s been severely affected by radiation and is already showing bleeding symptoms. Can Fata do anything to help?”

Dream Witch was stunned, her expression instantly turning serious. She understood what radioactive materials meant—the damage they caused left even recovery-type Awakened powerless, because they could affect DNA.

She hurriedly led Atiya upstairs, finding time to ask Oliver: “Where are my only younger brother and son-in-law?”

Oliver replied: “There’s no signal here. They went to intercept Adrian. In four days, Adrian has to go to the restricted zone, and he can’t have radiation on him.”

As soon as he finished speaking, they arrived at the bedroom. Dream Witch didn’t bother with politeness and pushed the door open with one palm: “Fata, there’s radiation in the air. Someone’s already bleeding—can you make some medicine?”

Everyone was high-level Awakened, so they hadn’t shown any reactions yet. Only the malnourished Atiya and the physically weak Oliver showed obvious symptoms.

“I can only synthesize some potassium iodide for now.” Fata quickly pulled several tubes of ointment from his bag. His five fingers flew, red light flashing, and he quickly changed the substances in the ointment into potassium iodide.

He immediately distributed the iodine tablets to everyone: “I don’t see any large factories nearby, so the radiation is probably some kind of ability. Everyone take out your rare lead ore bullets and wear them—they can effectively reduce radiation effects.”

Oliver fed Atiya the medicine, then said to Dream Witch: “Lance wants us to immediately notify the entire town. Tell them AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison is dumping nuclear waste into the town, and now they need to make a big fuss about it!”

Dream Witch stuffed two bullets into her pocket, hung a string of grenades with extremely high rare lead ore content around the little golden retriever’s neck, then said to everyone: “Let’s go, let’s go—time to get to work.”

On the other side, Lance and Zhan Pingchuan raced along until they finally drove to the town entrance.

At this point, the phone signal had returned to full bars, and they could hear Duma’s voice in their earpieces again.

“Lance, you disconnected.” Duma’s voice was still serious as always, but his breathing was heavy—clearly he had his mouth pressed tightly against the microphone.

Lance: “Duma, I need you to spread a message on the polar network. Say that AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison is maliciously dumping waste, causing radiation levels in Samp Town to explode off the charts, with civilians vomiting blood and fainting. Make it fast.”

“Alright, Lance. Don’t hang up on me again.” Duma agreed while giving instructions.

Zhan Pingchuan stopped the car in the middle of the road and also pulled out his phone efficiently.

His phone already had a missed call from Adrian from an hour and a half ago.

He immediately called back. Before the dial tone stopped, Adrian picked up: “Everything alright?”

Though it was a question, Adrian’s voice remained calm and steady.

Zhan Pingchuan rubbed his face hard and couldn’t help cursing: “These bastards actually dumped radiation on the town. Now we all have radioactive materials on us—Uncle, you can’t enter the town!”

“What the fuck?” Wu Peng was shocked. He hadn’t expected that in just this short time, something had really happened to Samp Town.

Fulunla trembled with anger: “The Federation government really has no bottom line. To catch us, they’d actually harm all the town’s residents!”

Ling Qi: “Young Master, how are you all doing now?”

Zhan Pingchuan: “The radiation level isn’t high—no harm in the short term, but this stuff stays on your body for a long time and won’t metabolize out.”

Adrian’s eyes darkened, but he asked: “If we don’t go through Samp Town, is there another way to enter the Loracity Icefield?”

Zhan Pingchuan spoke extremely fast, rattling off: “We can only go through the chain bridge at the border. To get to the border, we have to cross through Samp Town. The sea route definitely won’t work—the currents below are too strong to get close. So Uncle, you wait for us outside town. Fulunla and the others come in—Fata already has potassium iodide ready. We’ll take it and then—”

“I’m going too.” Adrian said flatly.

Zhan Pingchuan was stunned: “Uncle, didn’t I explain clearly? This kind of radioactive element—”

“I know.” Adrian interrupted.

Zhan Pingchuan thought to himself that even the academic genius had blind spots: “You don’t know. Uncle, did you forget all your previous knowledge? This kind of radioactive element can be detected. They deliberately used this method to mark us. Once you go to the restricted zone in four days, there’s absolutely no way to avoid inspection.”

Adrian sighed lightly and completed the unfinished sentence—

“I know I’ll regret it if I don’t go.”

He knew all the risks, knew that once contaminated with radiation, the restricted zone would be a one-way trip.

But at this moment, he had no time to consider all that. He had to do everything in his power to rescue Lucas—he knew this with absolute clarity.