TYMIMA Chapter 131

Dream Witch’s ability proved extremely useful at this moment. The Omegas who made eye contact with her all became her loyal assistants. Under her direction, they knocked on doors throughout the town, spreading the news that the mist contained radiation.

The two easiest things to spread in this world were gossip and panic.

They didn’t need to provide any evidence at all. They just needed these neighbors to spread word that someone had vomited blood and fainted from excessive radiation, and the town’s residents would rationalize everything themselves.

“Neighbors! This is terrible! There’s radiation in our air!” the inn owner shouted at the top of his lungs.

“What?”

“It’s true! Our hotel’s service staff vomited blood and passed out! Now our town’s radiation levels are off the charts!” The inn owner went from street to street, shouting at the top of his voice.

“Oh my god, how could this happen!”

“It’s true! Everyone please immediately close your doors and windows, wash your whole body, and if you have them, take iodine tablets right away!”

“We don’t have iodine tablets stocked! How could radiation levels suddenly spike?”

“I was wondering why I’ve been dizzy and nauseous these past two days—turns out I was affected by radiation!”

“I’ve been aching all over recently, and my eyes are dry and sore.”

“I can’t sleep at night, just feel uncomfortable all over. I was too embarrassed to mention it.”

“My heart’s been hurting these past few days, and my skin’s gotten worse too. Could that also be radiation damage!”

“But why? We don’t have any nuclear plants here. Our town hasn’t had this kind of situation for decades.”

“It’s true! Look online—there’s already news about it!”

After receiving the young master’s orders, the High Tower Guild’s writing team all rolled up their sleeves. Their ten fingers flew, and in no time, they’d created hundreds of sensational media articles.

They were extremely skilled at this type of work, guaranteeing every article had explosive content and every sentence had conflict, repeatedly rubbing against the Hachimo people’s sensitive nerves.

Duma shouldered a full little basket and ran toward the polar network database center, plastering text spam all over the web.

All the residents of Samp Town, still in shock, began searching online everywhere. Sure enough, related information gradually appeared on polar social media—

【According to reliable sources, Samp Town suffers sudden nuclear contamination—civilians already affected!】

【Samp Town radiation levels off the charts! Local residents vomiting blood and fainting!】

【Cause for concern! AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison dumps pollutants, causing Samp Town radiation to exceed safe levels!】

【The dangers of radiation! Several prevention measures to pay attention to!】

【Diplomatic conflict! AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison under Federation rule recklessly dumps nuclear pollution—polar people’s survival in jeopardy!】

……

“It’s true! It’s already been reported online!”

“Who knows how long we’ve been suffering radiation damage?”

“Oh my god, so it was AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison. I knew something was up when they brought a whole bunch of people these past few days, acting all mysterious!”

“This hellhole is only 800 meters from our town, and now they’re spreading radiation too—they don’t treat us like human beings at all!”

“Will the Polar Glacier Organization do anything about this? Are you going to keep being submissive to the Federation? What use is an organization that can’t protect its people?”

“I’m a town resident. I can confirm that AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison has had large numbers of officials and guards arrive recently, and supplies are being transported in batches. They even hired us Hachimo people as laborers but made us cover our eyes—they wouldn’t let us see anything.”

“Strongly suspect the Federation government is conducting anti-human experiments at AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison! The prisoners there are all their experimental tools!”

“Utterly deranged! What did we Hachimo people ever do wrong? Being poor and struggling is one thing, but now we can’t even guarantee our own safety!”

“Why hasn’t the Glacier Organization responded yet? They need to immediately send people to evacuate the residents of Samp Town, provide treatment and compensation for those exposed to radiation, and move in to investigate AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison to uncover the truth, while strongly condemning the Federation government!”

“This is just heartbreaking. Who knows if they have enough medicine over there. I have iodine tablets here—I can drive them over.”

“Driving is too slow. It takes over six hours to get from Gran City to Samp Town by car. A helicopter is fastest!”

“Radiation electromagnetic pulses will interfere with helicopters!”

“Rescue missions are always risky. If we don’t stop this, the radiation will spread to Gran City sooner or later!”

……

At eleven o’clock at noon, under pressure from public opinion, the Polar Glacier Organization immediately dispatched a rescue team and an Awakened operations squad to Samp Town.

In less than two hours, ten helicopters loaded with medicine arrived just outside Samp Town.

The operations squad quickly took out professional equipment to measure the local radiation levels. Sure enough, the readings showed the radiation was over the limit!

The Glacier Organization’s upper management received the report and flew into a rage. They immediately called the Speaker of the Federation, demanding a reasonable explanation for the incident and permission for the polar Awakened operations squad to enter AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison for investigation, to ensure the Federation wasn’t conducting dangerous experiments on the polar border.

The Speaker of the Federation was caught off guard by the call. He had just finished lunch and was planning to take a nap, only for this peaceful afternoon to be shattered by the call.

He was, of course, aware of the fishing operation this time. The elaborate trap set up in the prison had all been filed with him, and the designer was a trusted secretary of the Council of Elders named Benbu.

When it came to the radiation, the Speaker felt extremely guilty. If this matter went to a vote in Parliament, it would never pass, but Benbu had promised it would never be exposed, and that once the Black Lantern Society was caught, the radiation would be cleaned up.

So, for the sake of the Council of Elders, the Speaker privately gave tacit approval.

But now, the matter had blown up, the Glacier Organization was furious, and the Federation was facing a major diplomatic crisis.

Although the Hachimo people lagged far behind the Federation in both technological development and Awakened reserves, no one wanted to start a war over something like this—especially since the Federation was entirely at fault.

All the Speaker could do was repeatedly assure the Glacier Organization’s leadership that he knew nothing about it, that he cared deeply about the health of the Samp Town residents, and that he was willing to provide humanitarian aid to the town.

“Don’t give us these empty words. It’s hard for the polar region to trust you anymore. We demand to enter AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison for investigation!” The organization’s leadership was uncharacteristically tough.

The Speaker kept repeating himself: “AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison involves Federation secrets and holds a large number of dangerous individuals, so we can’t allow the polar Awakened squad to enter. Besides, there’s no evidence that the radiation came from the prison.”

“Let’s not pretend with each other. This is one hundred percent your responsibility. I have to ensure the safety of the polar people. If you refuse to cooperate, we will completely seal off polar airspace, cut off all supplies to AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison, and ban anyone from transporting prisoners through the polar region.”

The Speaker replied, “This really has nothing to do with us. You’re overreacting. Why does it have to come to this?”

“I don’t have time to go in circles with you. I’m under enormous public pressure here and must give the Hachimo people an answer.”

The Speaker took a deep breath and finally compromised: “How about this—I’ll allow two polar researchers to enter AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison for inspection, so you can give the public an explanation. But the Federation really does have secrets inside, so I’ll need your absolute cooperation not to disrupt our plans.”

“So you really are running anti-human experiments!”

The Speaker replied, “I guarantee it’s not experiments that endanger human health—only internal Federation disputes.”

The two leaders each took a step back and reached an agreement on this matter.

After hanging up, the Polar Glacier Organization immediately issued an official statement—

> “We take the incident in Samp Town extremely seriously and extend our deep sympathy to the town’s residents. After the incident, our leadership immediately called the Federation government to sternly question the matter and demand a reasonable explanation. At the same time, the polar region will send two researchers to AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison to conduct an investigation. We have always regarded the safety of the Hachimo people’s lives and property as our top priority…”

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Federation immediately called Si Hongche, utterly frazzled and speaking with barely contained anger.

“Director Si, the Samp Town radiation incident has blown up all over the net. The Glacier Organization just called to question us. When are you going to report this to Parliament?!”

Si Hongche, draped in a black coat and slouched in a soft chair, had a cup of cold tea in front of him. The room was clean, bleak, and dark.

He lifted his eyes slightly in the shadows, his tone indifferent: “Strange, the fishing operation I was informed of didn’t include spreading radiation. Samp Town’s radiation levels being over the limit—what’s that got to do with the Federation?”

The Speaker laughed furiously, “If you really think this has nothing to do with the Federation, why even mention a fishing operation?”

Si Hongche shot back, “If Parliament wants to pin blame on me, maybe explain first why, as the operation’s leader, I never got the full plan.”

The Speaker was momentarily stumped, then immediately warned, “Si Hongche, wiping out the Black Lantern Society is a major Federation initiative. This is not the time for you to make a fuss.”

Si Hongche let out a cold snort, his expression unchanged.

“Benbu is reckless and seriously inexperienced. This matter never should have been put in his hands. But if I’d raised objections, would Parliament have supported me? Now I’m left out in the cold, fully cooperating, and you say I’m making trouble. The logic is always yours.”

The Speaker was left speechless.

The reason he called Si Hongche instead of immediately blaming Benbu was out of respect for the Council of Elders.

After all, Benbu was close to the elders, and the three elders held three veto votes over the Speaker. He’d only just seen Dinlock step down and didn’t want to lose his own position.

“If you have time to pick on me, you’d be better off ordering Benbu to rein it in and minimize the losses.” With that, Si Hongche hung up.

He tossed his phone beside the teacup with a “clang.”

The screen was still lit. He knew this sudden storm meant the Black Lantern Society had arrived.

He subconsciously curled his fingers, gripping a small cloth pouch in his palm.

Inside were a few strands of Oliver’s golden hair, carefully taken from a comb.

Just one wall away, Benbu was in a rage, grabbing a nearby cup and hurling it at someone’s face.

There was a dull thud, and blood oozed from the man’s forehead, trickling down his nose.

But the man just hunched his shoulders and looked up at Benbu. “Lord Benbu, I really did control the radiation levels. Unless someone’s in terrible health, there’s no way this much radiation would cause vomiting blood in just a few days. I suspect this is a plot by the Black Lantern Society.”

Benbu’s features twisted, his gaze dark: “What’s the use of saying this now? The Polar Glacier Organization has already caught us out. They’re definitely going to get involved.”

“I’ll withdraw the radiation immediately. This little bit of radioactive material will metabolize in a month—there won’t be any deaths in the short term. Could Parliament refuse them entry to AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison?” the man asked tentatively.

Benbu lifted his swollen eyelids, his sharp cheekbones twitching, and said coldly, “With public opinion this inflamed, absolutely not. I still underestimated the Black Lantern Society.”

But he carefully checked the timing of the public outcry—almost all media reports and exposés had been posted within a single minute, as if all those accounts had coordinated.

Too fast. Unnaturally fast.

That instantaneous surge in traffic had snowballed the incident, drawing more and more Hachimo people in, forcing the Glacier Organization to take a hardline stance in diplomatic negotiations.

From the moment someone started vomiting blood, to the arrival of the rescue team and the Awakened squad in Samp Town, and then to the organization’s leadership calling the Federation to demand entry into AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison for investigation—the whole process felt as if an invisible hand was accelerating everything along.

There was no way those simple-minded townsfolk could have pulled this off.

He thought again of Oliver.

That was a restricted zone heavily guarded by inspection teams, a solitary cell lined with rare lead ore—how did the Black Lantern Society manage to spirit someone away without a sound?

He remembered the control center’s report: the surveillance on the third basement level had once failed, yet even the senior techs couldn’t handle a single virus.

And he hadn’t expected the Black Lantern Society to arrive so quickly—he’d thought at the very least, they would confirm whether the Mad Clown had really been locked up in AGW Special Dangerous Death Row Prison.

Benbu’s eyes narrowed, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up.

Unless the other side had already confirmed it.

Through the prison’s network, they saw them lock up the Mad Clown.

The Black Lantern Society had an Awakened who could invade and control networks!

Benbu’s face darkened as he barked an order: “Cut all surveillance in the prison immediately. From now on, block all signals and forbid anyone from using electronic devices!”

—

 (advanced chapters available on kofi)