LSDWTWHA chapter 71

Chapter 70

As 03 began to tremble, he felt he was in excruciating pain, as if he were dying. He didn’t want to die, nor could he endure this pain. He begged incoherently, displaying even less strength than those mermaids he had previously tortured.

Su Su lowered his eyes, observing the other’s painful struggles, feeling that the sight was no different from the fish that desperately wriggled after being bitten by him.

Although they were both human, he felt no affection for this individual. It wasn’t the fact that Qi Hanyi was a good-looking human that made him fall for her at first sight; it was simply because she was Qi Hanyi.

A harsh alarm blared, and a door opened not far down the corridor, precisely where the horrifying screams had emanated. Dozens of similarly dressed people rushed out of the room, weapons in hand, charging toward Su Su.

The weapons they wielded were long rods with dark, tubular ends. As they activated the switch, the pipes emitted the crackling sound of electricity. Su Su felt a jolt of electricity hit him, igniting a painful burning sensation and causing a numbing weakness to surge through his body.

Su Su let out a muffled groan, propping himself against the wall, steadying himself against the fall.

More weapons aimed at him, but they hesitated to activate the switches, perhaps fearing that they might accidentally kill him with too much force.

Leading this group was a robust middle-aged man labeled as 08, who was shouting hoarsely toward Su Su, “Training subject Su Su, attacking training personnel is a serious crime. You need to be taken to the training room immediately for correction. If you don’t want to suffer, I suggest you surrender now and strive for leniency.”

Su Su found the situation somewhat amusing; the words were so arrogant, yet they did not dare to meet his gaze.

They were afraid.

Despite having powerful weapons and the advantage in numbers and terrain, they were afraid of him, who was unarmed.

With their fear evident, Su Su felt calm. He knew he had the upper hand. These individuals, due to their identities, would not dare to use lethal force against him. They could not simply flip the switch and electrocute him. Moreover, they had no real combat experience and lacked the courage to confront him head-on; even in greater numbers, they were merely a disorganized rabble.

Su Su moved, charging toward the unfortunate 031 closest to him.

Electricity surged through him, painful but tolerable. After the attack he had endured earlier, Su Su had adequately prepared himself mentally for pain, so he even maintained his composure, accurately grabbing 031’s wrist while twisting to snatch the electric gun from his hand.

This device had a single switch and was as simple to operate as a flashlight. Su Su switched it on and swept it before him, causing a handful of approaching personnel to collapse in a heap. The remainder rapidly retreated to a distance of several dozen meters where his electric gun could not reach.

“This is quite fun, isn’t it?” Unable to reach those further away, Su Su jabbed again at the underling 031 trying to reclaim the weapon with a swift motion.

031 let out a shrill scream, writhing in pain as if a vampire caught in sunlight.

The other personnel were accustomed to such screams during their duty, but when it was emitted from their companion’s throat, they felt something entirely different. Their faces turned pale, reflecting fear, panic, and helplessness, not unlike those mermaids they once bullied.

“Quick, take the elevator, get the guard robots up to deal with this!” Number 08, as the leader of this group, hid at the back of the crowd before throwing out this command and bolting toward the elevator, with the others scrambling up behind him, including 03, who was likely sent off for emergency treatment after Su Su’s kick, and 031, who was swaying unsteadily from having been electrocuted.

“Are you not afraid of getting into trouble? This is their turf; acting this way toward them, they will retaliate against you.” A weak, worried voice spoke from behind Su Su.

He turned around to see the mermaid girl who had caused a scene at the banquet.

Less than an hour ago, this girl had worn an exquisitely beautiful dress, her skin fair and smooth, showcasing the marks of pampering. Even her angry expression was filled with life.

Now, however, she lay crumpled on the ground, her white robe completely soaked and stained with mottled blood, her hair dripping wet, while her face was pale as death. The scales on her tail had partially shed, revealing savage wounds beneath. It was clear she had suffered terribly inside.

Her eyes now lacked the previous brightness, though remnants of concern for Su Su and a subtle hint of envy still lingered: “But you are really amazing; no wonder you can become such an outstanding starship pilot… You should run away; once they arrive, you’ll be finished.”

“No escape; the windows here are impossible to get through, and the elevator is the only exit. They will definitely guard it to prevent me from leaving.” Su Su casually tossed aside the electric gun. He was clear-headed; given his combat power, facing off against these non-fighting workers was manageable, but encountering combat robots? That was entirely different.

He hadn’t thought of running away like this; he had acted out of pure irritation. He also wasn’t afraid of what they would do to him; after all, they couldn’t kill him.

“You know you can’t escape, yet… so what now? Should you apologize to them?” The girl looked at Su Su with an anxious expression, feeling uneasy because of his nonchalant attitude. “Just apologize; at least that might lessen your suffering. Don’t think it’s insignificant; they have many ways to not kill you, but to make your life worse than death.”

Su Su smiled and countered, “Did you apologize when you were inside just now?”

The girl nodded.

Su Su then asked, “Did they let you go?”

She hesitated and replied, “No, but if I hadn’t apologized, they definitely would have…”

Su Su interrupted her: “Their purpose in torturing you is to instill fear through pain, to make you obedient and easier to control, while enjoying this process. Your pleas and apologies won’t reduce your suffering but will only serve to increase their enjoyment.”

The girl stared blankly at Su Su, seeing her own reflection in his clear eyes—messy, cowardly, and ugly. Suddenly, she broke down and buried her face in her hands, crying, “I don’t know; I was just too hurt and scared. Is this really embarrassing? I… I once thought I was a particularly brave mermaid, that I could handle anything, but when they tormented me, my mind went blank, and I just wanted this pain to end. I hurt so much that I even began to regret wanting to learn about starships. I thought if they let me go, I would do whatever they said. I hate myself for becoming like this.”

Su Su silently watched the mermaid girl break down on the ground. He couldn’t really understand her thoughts; if anyone caused him this much pain, he wouldn’t listen to them at all—he would simply think of a way to retaliate, even at the cost of his own life.

The girl cried for a few minutes before seemingly calming down a bit. “My name is Yi Lan, the ‘Lan’ of mountain storm. I’m a distant cousin of Yi Qing. We met half a year ago. She came to see me off on my wedding day. I know she likes orcas, not wanting to marry. But I didn’t expect her to be so bold as to find you to marry in her place.”

At this moment, Su Su’s expression shifted slightly: “She didn’t find me; it was an accident.”

Yi Lan didn’t care if it was an accident; she continued, “I heard from others about you participating in the starship competition, and I envy you for living life as you wish. Honestly, I know nothing about starships, but I thought if I could choose the same path as you, at least it would be better than being treated like a decoration at home.”

“No, you’ll only be happy if you find what you truly want to do.” When Su Su heard her mention starships, he spoke earnestly: “Piloting a starship is no trivial matter; it leads to battlefields. You will be injured, and you might even die, facing unimaginable dangers. None of those dangers could be more perilous than this place; at least here, they don’t dare to let you die for real.”

Yi Lan’s eyes showed signs of defeat: “So, for this reason, it has come to this point. Am I really foolish?”

Su Su felt her tone was pitiful. After all, it was because of him that she had come to embrace the idea of learning about starships; now, he had delivered such a blow. He strained to think of a comforting phrase to make her feel better. “But you haven’t gained nothing; at least this experience has shown you what kind of partner you have. He is scum, unworthy of you becoming a human.”

However, Su Su clearly wasn’t good at comforting others; after he said this, Yi Lan felt even more dejected. It was true she had once loved that person and believed he loved her, which allowed her to indulge in some mischief and pouting. But when he decided to send her here, so eagerly, it turned out he didn’t like her character at all; he only wanted an obedient slave who resembled him.

A soft sound came from the elevator as the doors opened. Several robotic guards, accompanied by the white-cloaked individuals who had just left, walked toward them. There was no sign of 03 in the crowd, likely because Su Su had kicked him too hard, and he had already been sent for emergency treatment.

Realizing Yi Lan was worried about him, Su Su took the upper hand. As the guards drew near, she whispered, “You really aren’t afraid they’ll torture you?”

“They don’t dare.”

“Why?”

Su Su seldom showed shyness, but now he revealed a hint of it: “Because my husband loves me very much. If they lay a hand on me, he definitely won’t let this place go.”

After being struck by her scumbag fiancé and then having her mouth filled with dog food, Yi Lan was like: ???

The robots surrounded Su Su, placing a restraint device on his head. Any sudden movement would trigger powerful electrical shocks through his temples, providing him with an unparalleled experience of pain.

Su Su did not struggle, allowing the robots to complete their task.

Seeing Su Su no longer resist, 08 assumed he had finally learned fear, showing a smug, pleased expression. “If you had behaved like this earlier, how much easier it would have been. Young man, you always need to learn a lesson to know how to behave.”

He ordered the robots: “Take him to the training room; this time, I will personally teach him a lesson.”

Carried by the robots, Su Su was dragged toward the training room.

He turned back to look at 08, his tone calm: “I advise you to make sure I can’t die here.”

08 twitched his facial muscles: “What nonsense are you talking about? We’re only training you, not trying to take your life.”

“Is that so?” Su Su smiled: “But if I live to see the day I leave here, I will definitely tell Qi Hanyi how you hurt me.”

“You should know, Qi Hanyi is different from other mermaids; he didn’t willingly send me in here, right? You should also know that even though I am a male mermaid and cannot cure his mental force collapse, he still hides my identity, indulges my gaming, and even paves the way for me to become the pilot of the White Zhi starship.”

“You said he loves me so much; if he knows you’re torturing me here, what do you think he will do? I think he would return the suffering I endured to you tenfold; that should be easy enough, since the military’s interrogation room is full of ways to torture people.”

08 grew a bit scared, but he didn’t want to show weakness in front of Su Su, so he forced himself to remain calm and sneered: “Do you think I was born scared? We’re working for the Mo family. Qi Hanyi is obstructing the relationship between the Qi and Mo families, and he doesn’t dare to confront our boss.”

“Doesn’t dare? Quite the opposite; until the emperor makes a judgment, my identity is at least that of the Qi family’s heir’s wife. You harm me, and you’re trampling on the Qi family’s face. Even if Qi Hanyi doesn’t pursue the matter, the Qi family will have to do so. And considering the relationship between the Mo and Qi families, the Mo family cannot intervene. Your boss won’t protect you; instead, he will eagerly push you out as discarded pawns.”

Seeing the expression on 08’s face twisting more and more, Su Su added lightly: “Of course, if I die, the result would be the same.”

“What exactly do you want?” This question was almost squeezed out between 08’s teeth.

It was as if their roles had reversed; although Su Su was restrained, he appeared more composed than anyone present. He even raised his chin a bit, displaying a touch of spoiled arrogance: “The only thing you can do now is be courteous to me while I’m staying here. If you can please me, I might consider not holding you accountable.”