FT DR Chapter 105: Pretending to be Weak for the Final Battle

Chapter 105: Pretending to be Weak for the Final Battle

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

The effect of the tranquilizer dart was rather short-lived. Wu Chenghe felt like he had only been unconscious for a short while before waking up.

Opening his eyes, he saw a pale blue ceiling, softly illuminated, creating a calming atmosphere. Moving his limbs, he felt a soft mattress beneath him, covered with clean white sheets.

Quietly extending his consciousness, Wu Chenghe confirmed that he was still in the research institute, but now in a single-person ward on the fifth underground floor, far away from where Jin Xuan was being held. He couldn’t sense him.

A strange “light spot” roamed the room, positioned diagonally across from his bed. Wu Chenghe gently turned his neck, adjusting his focus, and realized it was Haynes. He wore a white cervical collar, indicating some injury to his neck. His jackal lay lethargically at his feet, devoid of spirit, its eyes dull.

This was probably Jin Xuan’s “masterpiece.” Wu Chenghe recalled vaguely seeing Jin Xuan choking Haynes before he lost consciousness. It seemed the lion had frightened his jackal considerably.

His mind raced as he recalled the plan. Wu Chenghe “struggled” to prop himself up on his elbows, staring blankly at Haynes for a few seconds. Suddenly, he screamed in a trembling voice, quickly retreating to the wall corner, fear evident in his voice, “What… what do you want?! Where is he? What have you done to him?!”

The exaggerated performance made even himself feel a bit disgusted, but that’s the role they assigned him. During the planning phase, the team carefully analyzed the action plan and unanimously agreed that Jin Xuan should act recklessly while Wu Chenghe should act timidly. This was to minimize Haynes’ guard. The combo of trashy attacker and pitiful victim would shine even a thousand years later!

“Hush, don’t be afraid, child,” Haynes seemed to have no guard up against him, gently comforting him. “He’s fine, just a bit out of control. We were afraid he might hurt you, so we asked him to stay in another room for a while.”

Wu Chenghe hesitated for a moment, shook his head, and insisted in a low voice, “He… he won’t hurt me. He’ll protect me. You’re lying. I can’t sense his consciousness. Where did you take him? I want to see him!”

“I’m not lying to you. He’s somewhere in this building, but your mental strength is too weak, your perception range too small to find him,” Haynes said with a smile, walking towards Wu Chenghe. “You better calm down, child. I don’t want to sedate you again. Let’s sit down and talk, I have many questions for you.”

Wu Chenghe continued his poor acting, looking at Haynes with a mixture of fear and unease. When Haynes was halfway there, unable to contain himself any longer, Wu Chenghe jumped up and scrambled to the door, grabbing the handle and shaking it desperately.

“It’s useless, that’s just decoration. This door is electronic, and only I have the key,” Haynes walked over, grabbing Wu Chenghe’s wrist and dragging him back to the bed, throwing him onto it.

With his guide muscles being extremely weak, Wu Chenghe was no match for Haynes in terms of arm strength. To add authenticity, after falling onto the bed, he even extended a pair of feeble mental tendrils, pretending to struggle, and poked at Haynes’ consciousness.

“Hiss—” Haynes breathed softly, erecting a mental defense to ward off his tendrils, a contemptuous smirk in his eyes. “Child, I advise you not to struggle in vain. With your level of skill, you can’t hurt me at all. If you provoke me, I have a hundred ways to make you suffer. Have you already forgotten the headache you just had?”

Wu Chenghe attacked again, slightly increasing his strength, while making a somewhat stiff expression of “exerting all his strength” to show his maximum capabilities.

This time, Haynes was prepared, never letting him get close to his consciousness. Without a word, he pounced, grabbing Wu Chenghe’s collar and throwing him against the headboard. At the same time, he slapped him across the face, “Do you want me to teach you a lesson? So young and already have such a bad memory. It seems your master has spoiled you!”

Then, he took out a disruptor from his pocket and pressed it.

“Ah!” Wu Chenghe dodged quickly, the slap ultimately landing on the right side of his head with little force. But he still cried out in pain, clutching his head, cowering in the corner like an abused cat, trembling and whimpering, “Stop… please, don’t use that again… it hurts so much.”

Seeing how easily he was frightened, Haynes chuckled triumphantly, sitting on the edge of the bed, patting his hair, “Be a good boy, and I won’t let you suffer, alright?”

Wu Chenghe shrank into the corner, avoiding his hand, his eyes showing a mixture of fear and hatred, “What… what do you want? Why did you capture us? We didn’t do anything to you. Please let me go, let us go, we won’t come to Tartaros again.”

“Hush, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you. I’m here to help you,” Haynes completely treated him like a child, coaxing him softly, “You’re much more sensible than your boyfriend, I can tell. Listen to me, child, as long as you convince your boyfriend to stay and help us with an experiment, I promise not to report to the Federation. Five years later, I’ll give you a sum of money to let you fly away.”

“He… he has money,” Wu Chenghe pleaded, “You can ask his father for money, whatever amount you want, his father will give it to you. Please, let us go, we’ll repay you.”

Haynes looked at him with pity, shaking his head. “That’s impossible, child. You’re facing the Second Army now. The money from the Yans means nothing to us. Even if his father sold the entire National Institute of Learning, he wouldn’t be able to get you out. Listen, you only have two choices now: one, stay here for five years and help us with a simple experiment. Two, go to Tungusic, face the court’s judgment, and be exiled to the remote edges of the galaxy. Oh, I forgot to tell you, there’s a secret, unknown to anyone. The Federation has added a ‘severance’ clause now. You might be marked with severance bonds, your sentinel will die, and you will be given to others as a gift. Understand?”

He even knew about the “severance” clause… Wu Chenghe’s heart raced, but his face still showed fear, hesitating as he looked at him, as if unable to make up his mind.

“You better make a decision quickly,” Haynes urged as he saw him wavering. “Your sentinel is suffering from mania triggered by your capture. If he doesn’t see you soon, he might go permanently insane. I’m sure you don’t want to see him die, as that would mean your end too. Listen to me, child. It’s only five years. You’ll be well taken care of here. We checked, and you’re a fertile male. As long as you agree to have a child for us, we might let you go early.”

“What… what did you say?” Wu Chenghe pretended to be startled. “What child?”

“Well,” Haynes said, “We have a research project concerning embryos. We can find a way to make you pregnant quickly. When the child is born, if it’s a guide, we’ll give you a large sum of money and let you leave early.”

“And what about the child?”

“Of course, it stays with us,” Haynes said. “The embryo is an experimental product. Even if you’re a fertile male, without our medication to stimulate you, it’s hard for you to get pregnant.”

Although he knew it was all an act, Wu Chenghe couldn’t help but feel raging anger: Children were seen as experimental products in their eyes, not even considered human! Although the confinement of guides in Tungusic violated human rights, at least they were still treated as people. In the eyes of the Second Army, guides had been completely objectified, turned into tools for experiments.

Jin Xuan was right; the Voyager Army had rotted to its core. Hannibal, Lancer, Haynes… they were no different from the Nazis a thousand years ago, even more cruel and perverse. If these people were allowed to split the Federation, humanity would fall into disaster!

Seeing him change color, Haynes thought he was afraid of pregnancy and softened his tone, coaxing him, “Don’t worry, pregnancy isn’t difficult. It’s only four or five months, and we’ll give you medication to alleviate any discomfort during pregnancy. You won’t even feel a thing… Think about it, your sentinel is still waiting for your comfort.”

Wu Chenghe gritted his teeth. “Fine, I’ll agree to stay, but I want to see my sentinel first and make sure he’s okay.”

“Of course,” Haynes said readily, having someone bring him clean clothes to change into. He led him to another room on the lower level, saying at the door, “Listen, child, I know you’re an Icarus butterfly guide with a certain suggestive ability. Your sentinel is extremely irritable. You better give him some suggestions to accept our arrangement, do you understand what I mean?”

Wu Chenghe nodded, saying, “I’ll do my best to calm him down. He… though he has a temper, he listens to me.”

Haynes patted his shoulder approvingly. “Let’s go in. Good luck, child.”

Wu Chenghe pushed open the door, revealing a spacious treatment room divided by a transparent partition into two sections. Outside, a holographic monitoring system was in operation, while two doctors in white coats were observing the data. Inside the partition, Jin Xuan lay on a narrow treatment bed, his limbs, waist, and neck all secured by metal shackles, unable to move.

He was in a state of mania, his eyes bloodshot, veins bulging on his arms, and his throat emitting a low, lion-like roar. He struggled from time to time, causing the metal shackles to creak under the strain.

“Doctor,” the two doctors gestured to Haynes, “he started to exhibit mania after waking up from anesthesia. The situation is very unstable, but we followed your instructions and didn’t medicate him.”

Haynes didn’t mind, waving his hand to dismiss them, then motioned for Wu Chenghe to enter. “Go on in. Remember what you promised me, I’ll be waiting for your good news.”

Wu Chenghe now realized that Jin Xuan had also been hit by a tranquilizer dart. Seeing him restrained like this, he couldn’t help but feel angry, but he bit his tongue to control himself from suggesting they all smash into the wall.

His temper had indeed grown with the increase in his mental power. It made him understand why Mu was always so hot-tempered as a guide.

Stay calm, stay calm… Wu Chenghe took a deep breath, entering the isolation room. Even before he entered, he could feel Jin Xuan’s consciousness. Jin Xuan was indeed experiencing mania, but it wasn’t severe. Over these months of comforting him, Jin Xuan’s control had become extremely stable. Sometimes, even under mild mania, he could control himself from going completely berserk for one or two hours.

Right now, Jin Xuan was in such a controlled state. As Wu Chenghe approached the treatment bed, he reached out with mental tendrils to soothe the sparks in Jin Xuan’s consciousness. Jin Xuan quickly calmed down, no longer struggling, panting heavily as he lay on the treatment bed, looking at him anxiously, hoarsely asking, “Are you okay? What did they do to you?”

“I’m fine, I’m okay. They didn’t do anything to me,” Wu Chenghe said, approaching the bed, reaching out to touch Jin Xuan’s sweaty forehead and holding his hand. “Calm down, don’t worry. They promised to let us go.”

“What did you say? They’re willing to let us go?” Jin Xuan was somewhat surprised, glancing at the people outside with hostility, then looking at him with concern. “Don’t believe them, these soldiers never speak the truth. They must be trying to deceive you because you’re young and naive, so they’re saying nonsense to fool you…”

“Shh—” Wu Chenghe placed his right hand on Jin Xuan’s forehead, communicating through mental sense. 【Haynes said we could sign a contract with them, stay for five years to help with their research, and if the child born is a guide, we can leave.】 But on the surface, he acted as if he were suggesting something subliminally, softly saying, “Calm down, my dear. They didn’t deceive us. They want to help us. If our affairs are exposed to the Federation, the guide school will definitely take me away, and you’ll be brought to court! Dr. Haynes said they would help us keep it secret. As long as we agree to stay and help them with their research, they’ll give us a lot of money in five years and let us leave.”

After his “suggestion,” Jin Xuan calmed down further, his pupils dilating slightly, his face showing a bewildered and hollow expression as he muttered, “Oh, is that so… You’re right, they’re here to help us…”

Wu Chenghe couldn’t help but marvel at Jin Xuan’s acting skills once again, managing to make himself seem so convincingly “suggested.” He seemed like a true actor!

【Watch your expression!】 Jin Xuan noticed him spacing out and scolded him through mental sense. 【Don’t drool over me at a time like this. I know you really admire me!】

Wu Chenghe was speechless but quickly adjusted his expression back to the “suggested” state, continuing, “We have no other choice now. Promise me you won’t oppose them anymore, okay? I don’t want to leave you, I don’t want to be exiled, and I don’t want to be sent to the guide school. You promised to protect me, and now is the time for you to protect me. Please, don’t antagonize Dr. Haynes anymore. He’s here to help us.”

Jin Xuan maintained his exceptional acting skills, nodding in agreement. “Yes, I’ll protect you. I can’t let the guide school take you away…” With his movement, he caused the metal shackles around his neck to clang.

Outside the partition, Haynes displayed a satisfied smile and said to one of the doctors, “Release his restraints. He has been calmed by the guide. He won’t go into a frenzy again. Go, bring the contract for them to sign.”

The doctor unlocked the metal shackles on Jin Xuan’s body. Jin Xuan indeed calmed down completely. He exchanged some words with Wu Chenghe in a low voice and then glanced outside warily before pointing at Haynes. “You’re Dr. Haynes, right? Whatever promises you made to him, you’d better repeat them to me.”

Haynes chuckled. “No problem.” He waved for someone to open the partition door and walked in with the contract, handing it to Jin Xuan. “I won’t say more. This is our contract, and all my promises are written on it. If you have no objections, just sign it.”

Jin Xuan, still somewhat suspicious, took the contract and carefully examined it. Haynes added, “Our contract is absolutely fine. As for supervision and enforcement, you don’t need to worry. We’ll send a copy of yours to your father, asking him to keep it for you.”

After flipping through the contract, Jin Xuan hesitated before picking up the pen to sign. Then he paused and asked, “What about my assistant? Will the contract he signs be the same as mine? He said he’s staying to help you with your work, so will he be doing the same things as us?”

Haynes hesitated briefly before nodding. “Yes, he will be involved in similar experiments.”

Jin Xuan pressed further, “Does he also have a guide? It’s impossible… Did you find a guide for him?!”

“This is classified information. I’m sorry, I can’t disclose it,” Haynes replied, looking displeased. 

But Jin Xuan didn’t care and insisted, “Then we’re participating in your experiments just like him. Can I meet him? I want to see him!”

“I’m sorry, not at the moment,” Haynes said firmly. “To ensure the scientific validity of the experiments, we can’t allow you to have contact for now.”

“Why?”

“That’s the protocol,” Haynes’s expression started to sour, and he signaled Wu Chenghe with a frown. 

Wu Chenghe quickly grabbed Jin Xuan’s arm, whispering, “Come on, let’s sign the contract. The doctor didn’t say we can’t meet forever, just not now.”

“Yeah, when the experiment stabilizes, you’ll be able to meet,” Haynes added hastily.

Jin Xuan had already guessed they wouldn’t let him have contact with Yin Bo, but he wanted to try anyway. He pretended to be very unhappy and took a long time to sign the contract. Haynes breathed a sigh of relief, signed and sealed the contract, and stored it away. He reached out to Jin Xuan, saying, “So, from now on, we’re a family. Let’s cooperate happily!”

Jin Xuan gave him a cold smile and shook his hand. “Happy cooperation.” Yeah, right!

After signing the contract, they were taken to a spacious dormitory, similar to Yin Bo’s, but because they were two people living together, the surveillance was tighter.

Fortunately, Jin Xuan had been prepared. He had collaborated with Yin Bo to perform a crazy infiltration of the network within this building from the beginning of the plan. So when the people escorting them left, he opened his personal terminal, created a blind spot in the corner of the bathroom, and established contact with Yin Bo through the kitchen system.

Waiting quietly for ten hours, the agreed-upon time arrived. Jin Xuan connected to a pre-established port in the bathroom, linking up with Chang Gong at the Tartaros Civilian Hotel while also connecting with Yin Bo, forming a multi-angle remote meeting.

“How’s the situation?” Chang Gong’s voice sounded slightly worried.

“Everything is going smoothly,” Jin Xuan whispered. “And you guys?”

“Everything’s going smoothly on our end,” Chang Gong said. “Qian Hua and I caused quite a scene when we heard you were staying. They brought out the contract you signed, and then we returned to the hotel.”

Qian Hua chimed in, “Yes, after returning, we followed the plan and contacted the quartermaster. He was surprised and said he would help us inquire, but Dr. Haynes is favored by the Lancer father and son pair. Even General Yuri has to consider his opinions. So, he advised us not to get our hopes up too high.”

Jin Xuan nodded. “It’s okay. Let him do the work. All you need to do is buy time. Being locked underground, it might take some time to thoroughly understand the situation here.”

“We still have six days on our pass. If we delay a bit, we should be able to extend it to more than ten days,” Chang Gong said.

Yin Bo interjected, “Ten days should be enough. Have you brought in the mechanical insects? You need to get them to me quickly. I’ll have Kazumi Koyama bring them to the surface and release them to survey the terrain.” The maps they had were drawn from Kazumi Koyama’s memory and weren’t perfect. Many details needed to be supplemented by the mechanical insects’ survey.

“They’re here, but they won’t let us meet you,” Jin Xuan said. “I’m planning to create a navigation system for the mechanical insects. They’ll fly through the drainage system to your dorm. I’ll try to get it done by tomorrow morning. Remember to receive them. Don’t squash them all like mosquitoes.”

Yin Bo laughed. “Then you better squash me first.”

“I must squash you!” Jin Xuan retorted.

The tense atmosphere relaxed, and the three groups exchanged intelligence before shutting down their systems. Jin Xuan took off four inconspicuous metal earrings from his ears, unscrewed the back covers, and poured out a pile of tiny components.

Knowing they would be searched before entering, Jin Xuan prepared four hollow earrings. He disassembled the smallest mechanical insect and fitted the parts into the earrings. These components were as small as a few micrometers, and even the largest one was no bigger than a sesame seed. They fit comfortably into the two-millimeter diameter earrings. Also, because they were disassembled, the chips were in an inactive state, undetectable even by sensors.

Jin Xuan flipped the earrings. The tips of the four earrings weren’t smooth needles but various specialized tools: a six-pronged screwdriver, a soldering gun, an adhesive needle… He extended his vision, carefully assembling under the light of the mirror. Soon, he assembled eight tiny mechanical insects.

“Let’s see if they work,” Jin Xuan said, smiling at Wu Chenghe’s tense expression. He activated the control program on his personal terminal, and the eight insects moved, wriggling and lining up neatly, raising their front legs in unison to salute him.

Unable to hold back a smile, Wu Chenghe chuckled. Seeing him smile, Jin Xuan felt incredibly sweet in his heart. Despite being in the heart of the enemy’s territory, he didn’t feel the slightest danger, only a sense of camaraderie.

“Let them go find Yin Bo,” Jin Xuan whispered with a smile. Setting the navigation program, he controlled the eight mechanical insects to fly into the drainage system and head towards Yin Bo’s dorm.

It was estimated that by tomorrow morning, Kazumi would bring them to the surface. The entire X-X area, covering less than three square kilometers, would take about six to seven days for intensive surveying. Adding the time for them to formulate their action plan and coordinate control, ten days should be enough.

Before Chang Gong and Qian Hua’s passes expired, they had to take action and deliver a fatal blow to the Second Army!

 

 

 

 

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