Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 39
Townsend opened the cell door of the prison, twirled the electric baton in his hand, and swung it a few times, pretending to be an action movie star. His partner, Yakin, impatiently pushed him into the long hallway beyond the cell door. “Hurry up! After the patrol, let’s find something to eat. I’m starving!”
“You had a sandwich just an hour ago,” Townsend complained back to his companion.
On either side of the hallway were doors made of special tempered glass, through which the outside could see the inside of the cells, but those inside could not see out. This setup facilitated the guards’ patrols while preventing the prisoners from conspiring and plotting.
The prison was currently less than a third full, all occupied by the crew of the Silver String. Each cell held two people. During the prison’s renovation, the AI Leonard had suggested keeping all prisoners together, but Joanna had vetoed this. “If they are all caged together, it will only unite them and bolster their arrogance,” she had said. Hence, the prison ended up in its current state. “It looks more like a student dormitory than a prison,” Leonard had mocked.
Yakin scanned the cells with a detached eye. Most of the prisoners were behaving as all captives did. After initial resistance and dissatisfaction, they calmed down and started to consider their situation, realizing that obedience and waiting for rescue were the safest bets. However, some of the more unique-minded individuals weren’t as compliant. A tall man paced back and forth in his cell, as precise as a pendulum. Yakin was reminded of a novel by a writer named Zweig from ancient Earth, where the protagonist developed extraordinary chess skills in prison.
In another cell, two roommates were arguing. The soundproofing was excellent (to prevent prisoners from communicating), so Yakin could only see their mouths opening and closing, their faces livid, occasionally using their hands and feet. If it turned into a violent fight, it would be troublesome.
In yet another cell, two people were engaged in an intimate activity. Yakin rolled his eyes and hurried past as if he hadn’t seen anything.
Townsend, however, was enthusiastically gesticulating in front of the cell door. “Oh, nice. I haven’t done it with my wife for a long time. She’s been giving me a hard time lately.”
“It’s work time. Stop babbling about your personal life,” Yakin sternly warned his partner.
The Silver Strings captain’s cell was at the end of the hallway. It was a large, comfortable single room that the guards jokingly called the “presidential suite”, as it was always used to host captured captains, demonstrating the pirates’ hospitality. Captain Leibniz was currently sitting on the bed, looking despondent and distracted, rubbing his hands anxiously, his lips moving as if talking to himself.
Yakin was used to this sight. Almost all captured captains were like this, worrying about “Will the pirates kill me?” “When will the ransom be paid?” “Will the company punish me?” and similar concerns. After lingering in front of the “presidential suite” for a while, Yakin nodded and signaled to Townsend that they could move on to check other areas.
As they left, Yakin suddenly felt a cold gaze on him. First, he felt a chill all over, then his back, where the gaze focused, seemed to burn. He turned abruptly and saw the source of the gaze.
It was a young man in his twenties, with meticulously groomed dark auburn hair and tawny eyes, glaring at Yakin like a bird of prey. The guard was stunned, wondering if the young man had a grudge against him, then realized that it was impossible to see outside from the cell! How had the young man seen him?
The confusion lasted only a few seconds before the young man shifted his gaze to his cellmate with the same cold, fierce look. Yakin sighed in relief, thinking maybe the young man had coincidentally looked in his direction.
The young man’s cellmate seemed equally uneasy under his gaze, his face turning very pale. Then he suddenly collapsed onto the bed, clutching his stomach and writhing in pain.
Yakin stepped forward and knocked on the cell door, turning the special glass fully transparent and activating the door’s communicator.
“What happened?”
Painful groans came through the communicator.
“Nothing,” the cold-eyed young man said. “He’s having a stomachache.”
“Do you need a doctor?”
“No.” The young man didn’t even look at Yakin or his suffering cellmate, staring instead at a nonexistent point in the air. “It’ll be over in a while. Right?”
“Y-Yes,” the patient on the bed said. “It’s an old problem. It’ll pass soon.”
“Alright,” Yakin shrugged. “If it gets really serious, press the red button on the door, and we’ll provide proper treatment.”
“Thank you very much,” the young man said.
The guard knocked twice on the door again, deactivating the transparency and communicator. Townsend was already at the end of the hallway, waving for him to hurry up. “Hey, come on! Didn’t you say you wanted to find something to eat?”
Colonel Gilbert Gauss paced anxiously on the bridge, like a caged beast. He was always impatient, and the thing he hated most in the world was waiting. However, he had to wait now because his superior had ordered it.
“When can we attack!” Colonel Gauss stomped on the floor. “Bayes, that coward! He dares not fight but won’t let others fight either! Damn it!”
“Please calm down, Colonel,” his adjutant advised. “The Major General must have his reasons for his orders. We should wait patiently for the right moment…”
“The right moment?!” Gauss roared, his anger exploding. “The right moment will slip away while we wait! By the time it arrives, that crazy bitch will have fled!”
“Please, you must calm down!” The adjutant wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, “The current order is ‘standby’. If you violate the order and attack on your own, regardless of success or failure, Major General Bayes will have a reason to blame you. But if you follow his order and still fail, you can put all the responsibility on the Major General. This is greatly advantageous to you!”
Gauss thought it over and found his adjutant’s reasoning sound. Indeed, his father had sent a competent person to assist him. The Colonel was pleased, patting the adjutant on the shoulder. His mood improved greatly. “You’re right! I can’t let Bayes have an easy time, but I also can’t let him get a hold on me!”
“Report!” A messenger hurriedly ran onto the bridge, saluting the Colonel.
“What is it?”
“We just received word that Dowlan Company has received the ransom demand from the Begrel Pirates.”
Colonel Gauss’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean we can attack now?” He sought confirmation from his adjutant.
“Yes, Colonel.” The adjutant saluted. “The time has come for you to show your skills.”
“Good!” Gauss waved grandly. “Order the entire fleet to set sail, enter warp, and raid that crazy bitch’s lair!”
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