Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 105
Annoying drizzle fell into the unfinished building, tapping on the rusty steel bars with an unpleasant, sharp sound. The rain on Olympus was highly acidic. Without protective anti-corrosion coating, buildings would be eroded beyond recognition in a few years.
Raindrops hit the silver blade, bursting into countless splashes like a fleeting flower, blooming and withering in an instant. The short knife and the blade clashed at speeds invisible to the naked eye. The fierce friction of metal produced dazzling sparks, and the sound of the blades slicing through the air intertwined with the rain, creating a mournful battle song.
Joshua stepped forward, his short knife stabbing into Faraday’s left shoulder, only to be blocked by something hard, nearly breaking the blade. The assassin withdrew his weapon, cursing under his breath. Who knew how many parts of this guy’s body had been turned into machinery, making it hard to find a weak spot. Using this advantage, Faraday’s attacks were wide and reckless, full of openings, but they couldn’t be penetrated.
“How do you like this mechanical body?” Faraday laughed. “I love it! I wish everyone could be like this! How about giving your lover a mechanical body too? Would you like that?”
He swung his blade, which Joshua firmly parried.
“Don’t impose your preferences on others, you pervert.” Joshua deflected the blade, gripping his short knife in reverse and thrusting forward. The knife’s edge hit Faraday’s chest, the sensation still one of striking metal. Joshua dragged the knife down hard, the scraping sound against the metallic skin was bone-chilling. When it reached the abdomen, it finally pierced into flesh.
“Seems like you’re not entirely a machine.” Joshua smirked.
Faraday maintained his manic smile, eyes wide as if he didn’t feel the pain. He grabbed the blade with his good hand, ignoring his fingers being cut, blood flowing down the edge, and pulled it out.
“Doesn’t matter.” He grinned. “If it breaks, I’ll replace it. Wherever it doesn’t work, I’ll replace it with machinery. Even organs can be replaced with artificial ones. I don’t care!”
“Why don’t you replace your brain too!” Joshua pulled back his knife, aiming for Faraday’s head. It seemed the only place left where he could deliver a fatal blow. The assassin imagined plunging the blade into those hateful eyes, through the skull, turning the brain to mush, and exiting the back of the skull—just the thought excited him.
Simply sending him to hell would be too merciful. Joshua wanted to tear the man in front of him to pieces, dismantle his limbs, pull out his organs, expose them to the sun, slowly taking his life, making him suffer the pain Alois endured!
The short knife swung faster and faster, forcing Faraday into a corner of the building. With the crisscrossing steel bars behind him, a formidable enemy in front, a gloomy sky above, and an endless abyss below, he was trapped again.
Am I going to die? Faraday thought. No, no, I can’t even be considered “alive” now, so how can there be “death”? I merely exist or turn into nothingness.
For a moment, the falling raindrops stopped. Time and space froze before him, and he heard a prolonged creaking sound, then time resumed.
The steel bar, pierced by a laser earlier, could no longer bear the weight above. Under gravity, it snapped, collapsed, and fell with a loud crash.
Joshua reacted quickly, retreating along the uneven corridor to the other side of the floor. By then, a third of the building had collapsed, the remaining part maintaining a precarious balance. Rain fell gently on the rubble, like tears mourning the dead.
Faraday was nowhere to be seen, likely buried under the rubble. His chances of survival were slim; even if he lived, he couldn’t escape the surrounding net. Though his death was dramatic, it was still too merciful.
Joshua didn’t dare linger in the dangerous building, finding a path through the scattered steel bars to go downstairs.
Suddenly, Jolene’s voice came through the earpiece. “Joshua? Are you okay? I saw part of the building collapse.”
“I’m fine, madam,” the assassin replied. “What about Alois? Have you found him?”
“We’ve found him. He’s alive but badly injured, currently in an ambulance. He…”
Joshua was no longer listening.
Alois was alive. He was alive. He was badly injured, but he was alive.
Ecstasy and bitterness filled the assassin’s chest. By the time he regained his senses, Jolene was still talking, urging him to leave the building quickly as it could collapse entirely at any moment. He was drenched, tears mingling with rain on his cheeks.
Dominic had suffered some minor injuries, but after being bandaged, he was mostly fine. He was now respectfully opening the hospital corridor door for “Godfather” Fairmont, leading him to the floor where the operating room was located.
The light above the operating room door was still on. Jolene sat on the bench outside, Kepler standing beside her, bent over, saying something to her. She nodded, choking back sobs.
“Ms. Jolene.” Fairmont raised his hand, and Dominic immediately understood, stepping back. “It’s been many years, and it’s so good to see you again.”
Jolene looked at him with tear-filled eyes. “Fairmont, it’s you… You’re here.”
The “Godfather” displayed perfect gentlemanly manners, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to Jolene. “Don’t be sad, Jolene.” He took the liberty of dropping the formalities. “Is the child alright?”
Jolene took the handkerchief, sobbing. “The doctor… The doctor said he’s not in any life-threatening danger… but… but his hand…”
Before she could finish, the corridor door burst open with a bang. The Mourner rushed in, drenched, his hair in disarray, dripping water. Dominic quickly followed, tugging at his clothes. “Calm down. This is a hospital. He’ll be fine!”
The Mourner ignored him. He walked to the operating room door, staring blankly at the light above the door, before turning around and collapsing beside Jolene.
“He… Is he alright?” the Mourner asked softly.
Jolene, startled by his despondent look, forgot her own tears and quickly comforted him. “The doctor said he’s badly injured but not in life-threatening danger. Once the surgery is over and he’s in the treatment pod, he’ll recover in a week. But his hand…”
“Is it gone?”
Jolene didn’t know what to say, so she silently handed Fairmont’s handkerchief to Joshua. The assassin took it without a word, clutching it tightly, as if holding back immense sorrow and anger.
“Don’t worry, Mourner,” Fairmont said, stepping in front of him. “This hospital’s prosthetic installation technology is among the best on the planet, on par with those in Neo Athens or Asclepius. With a prosthetic, the child will live a normal life. Don’t worry.”
Joshua nodded silently. Fairmont sighed inwardly for him.
……
Leslie Faraday opened his eyes. The rain washed over his body, and even though most of his body was mechanical, he still felt cold. The weight on his body told him he was buried under the rubble. He tried moving his limbs. His hands could still move, but one leg was pinned down. Luckily, it was his prosthetic. He carefully sat up, dismantled the joint of the prosthetic, freeing himself, then dug the prosthetic out from under the rubble and reattached it.
The process took a lot of time. The prosthetic was severely damaged, but still barely usable. Faraday limped out of the rubble. With fallen steel bars everywhere, he sometimes had to crawl on all fours. His abdomen hurt terribly, not just from the Mourner’s injury but internally as well, likely from the fall. Even artificial organs, if damaged and untreated, could lead to death. Faraday had no hope of any comrades surviving. He needed to find a hospital quickly, repair his damaged limbs and organs, and report the defeat to the Duke.
He staggered out of the rubble, heading toward the center of Takamagahara. The rain and pain made every step torturous, and he soon collapsed.
A bright light stung his eyes. His functioning cybernetic eye saw a ground car screech to a halt before him, splashing dirty water.
“Why did you stop suddenly, Epolyne?” a man said.
“Someone collapsed in the middle of the road. I had to stop or I’d run him over,” a woman replied.
“Oh, you didn’t hit him, did you?”
“He ran right into the road!”
“Come on, every driver says that.”
Someone turned him over, face up. Faraday saw a young man with glasses crouching beside him. He said weakly, “Help… save me… save me…” Each word brought blood gushing from his mouth.
“He’s asking for help.” The man seemed amused rather than sympathetic. “Epolyne, look, so many parts of him have been replaced with prosthetics.”
The woman named Epolyne said, “It’s quite similar to your experimental concept, Doctor.”
The man’s eyes lit up with excitement, like a child with a new toy. “Epolyne, get him into the car! I’ve found a new test subject!”
“It’s not good to just pick people off the street, Doctor.”
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