Chapter 1 - The Prisoner
Chapter 1 – The Prisoner
Chapter 1: The Prisoner
It was winter in the state of Maine, so the weather was bitingly cold.
Outside the base, a man clad in a military uniform couldn’t help but stomp his feet as his iron boots clanged on the ground. “I can’t believe they’re making us stand guard here in this weather. This is totally unnecessary at this base.” Despite his complaint, he immediately straightened up when he saw other military officers coming over.
“They’ve transferred one more group over to this base. I wonder what they’re up to,” the soldier beside him said.
“They should just kill that man. What’s the point of researching that in this era? Do they seriously think that the martial arts of those Asian people are of any use at all?” Seeing that the military officers had left the place, he lit up a cigarette.
“It took them a lot of effort to capture that man, so they won’t kill him easily. You also know that they had sent a group of soldiers and even tanks. The situation was dangerous.”
“Corey, stop believing those rumors. We had confronted the Mystic Warriors before, didn’t we? I think we should just kill him instead of wasting the taxpayers’ money any longer.”
Corey fell silent and placed a cigarette between his lips as well. His eyes were covered by the smoke, so no one could read the emotion behind his gaze. As the cold breeze cast away the smoke, he looked into the distance and fell into his thoughts. Moments later, he said, “You’re wrong. After all, he’s the God of War from the East.”
…
The interior of the base was in stark contrast to its plain exterior. The walls in the corridor reflected the light as they were made of steel. The gaps on the floor were equipped with security cameras. Paired with the cameras on the ceiling, the surveillance system was flawless. That was why the small number of ladies in the base never wore any skirts.
There was a room at the end of the corridor, but it looked more like a gold vault. That was because the 550mm thick round door was made of stainless steel with 108 rotating dials and a complicated mechanical keyhole. The key and the passcode were kept by the General, Anthony, and his Deputy General respectively.
There were no windows in the room. The single cool white lightbulb on the ceiling made the atmosphere look eerie.
There were many holes on the walls that were connected to a ventilation system, which ensured that the prisoner could get enough oxygen. When necessary, these holes could also disperse poisonous gas.
The tiles on the floor were closely connected, but there were many pressure sensitive chips embedded in the gaps. As soon as they detected any force that was above 1N, they would release a 10kV high voltage current, burning any organic life in an instant.
In the middle of the room was an ‘iron coffin’ that was made from many precision parts and tough compounds, designed by an outstanding mechanical engineer. The ‘iron coffin’ was designed in a way that it was able to withstand a maximum force of 215,000N in every direction. Even a killer whale wouldn’t be able to break free from it, let alone a primate. Certainly, a killer whale isn’t so petite.
The equipment in the ‘iron coffin’ was responsible for infusing basic nutrition into the prisoner’s body so that he could remain alive. His nose was exposed so that he could breathe freely. His eyes weren’t covered because they were worried that he might go mad if he didn’t see any light for a long period of time.
At that moment, he was staring fixedly at the closed door with his black eyes. His gaze seemed to be as cold as the weather outside the base.
Lu Chen had forgotten how long he had been detained in this place. It had probably been more than one year now. He didn’t feel lonely; he just found his current life boring.
Times had changed, so he could no longer find any opponents whom he could fight with using their bare fists. These days, his opponents were mostly soldiers with rifles in their hands who could also drive tanks to surround him. The fighter jets were so high up in the sky that he couldn’t touch them by jumping up.
On the battlefield, he and his comrades charged forward at the same time. However, most of them were killed halfway, and only he was able to reach the destination and slaughter his opponents. That was a terrible feeling.
***
When the heavy door was pushed open, Lu Chen raised his gaze and saw an unfamiliar woman. She didn’t seem to be the researcher in this base.
The woman was clad in a brown Burberry windbreaker as her Christian Louboutin stilettos clanged on the floor. Her blonde hair hung loose on her shoulders, and she was wearing a pair of blue earrings. With a dispassionate expression, she appeared to be a clean-cut woman.
“Please allow me to have a word with him alone,” she said to Anthony, who was behind her. Despite using the word ‘please’, her attitude was that of a queen giving an order to her minister.
“You only have five minutes.” Anthony nodded slightly but didn’t leave.
The woman gave him a look in silence, making the atmosphere depressing.
“Your earrings and necklace are made of metal,” he said in a respectful manner. The woman’s short moment of stare was enough to make this experienced general start sweating. However, rules were rules.
After a moment of confrontation, the woman decided to give in as she took off her earrings and necklace. After she hurled the accessories out of the room, they dropped on the floor with a clang. Following that, she pressed a button on the wall to close the door.
Before the door was completely closed, Anthony caught a glimpse of her glare, as though she was saying, “I’ll remember this.”
Then, she pulled her windbreaker closer and buttoned it up in an elegant manner before taking out a notebook and a ball pen. Gazing at the legendary man before her eyes, she called out, “Lu Chen.” She spoke in fluent Mandarin.
However, he wasn’t able to reply to her, and he didn’t have the intention to do that.
The woman didn’t mind it and continued, “We don’t have all day, so just listen to me. I’m not a qualified negotiator, and I don’t like to beat around the bush. I’m here to pass on the President’s word. Recently, people with superpower have started emerging in the country, and they’ve been a headache for us. Therefore, the President wants you to deal with them. Besides the necessary control, you’ll be allowed some freedom. What do you think?”
Realizing that he couldn’t speak, the woman stepped forward. “If you agree to it, blink once. If you don’t agree to it, blink twice.”
However, Lu Chen just stared at the front without blinking. Looking into his hollow gaze, the woman knew that he wasn’t staring at her. Has he gone crazy?
Lu Chen was touted to be an experienced warrior, but he looked just like an eighteen-year-old young man. After two years of imprisonment, he had probably gone mad. What a waste of time, she thought. Feeling curious, she looked into his eyes again and wondered if he really didn’t understand her.
All of a sudden, Lu Chen became agitated. The coffin designed by the best mechanical engineer started cracking, and even the entire room was shaking.
The sudden change caused the woman to be flustered as she dropped her stuff and stepped backward. The alarm system started ringing out, causing all the people in the base to be alarmed.
All the people in the security room stayed vigilant. If it weren’t because of the woman’s special identity, they would have allowed the transmission of the high voltage current.
Nevertheless, Lu Chen calmed down a short moment later. Indeed, he couldn’t break free from this coffin using brute force.
The woman was still reeling from the shock as she stared at Lu Chen. Seeing that he had blinked twice, she got the answer she needed. After she calmed down, she picked up her notebook and pen from the floor. Following that, she made a gesture above her head to tell them that the meeting had ended.
A moment later, the door was opened again, upon which she stepped out of the room with a cold expression. After the door was closed, it was as though nothing had happened.
Under the cool white light, Lu Chen lowered his gaze and saw a silicone bead lying on an inconspicuous area.
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