Falling into the Abyss

Thank you VBaby, Mo & Kofi-Supporter for your kind support—Bonus Chapter (1/1)

Ethan thought that the seven of them would be sent to the court of ethics to be tried and judged, but they were simply transported off the Magic Flute and directly to the Forbidden City. They hardly had the opportunity to set foot on the land outside the Forbidden City.

After emerging from the transport plane, they faced a hazy sky that spread beyond the high wall in the distance and empty fields covered with rough stones. The cold, humid wind fluttered against his cheeks, instantly evoking the feelings he had felt when he had first entered the Forbidden City two months ago. Here, everything was shabby and dirty, and even the air was denser and more turbid than outside the city. Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the crooked concrete buildings standing outside the empty field nearby, appearing as though they would collapse at any moment. His strong desire to live from Red Earth suddenly seemed to be vague and distant as the moon.

They were stripped of the electric collar around their necks. A ferocious-looking guard pointed a gun at them and ordered all of them to undress, while another guard scanned their bodies with a device. Seven nonhumans stood naked in front of all the guards, as vulnerable as babies. Ethan involuntarily covered his body with his hands and glanced sideways at Samuel, who was standing tall, without any shame.

“Fifty left, and only seven came back. This is the might of a ten-point mission.” A guard spoke quietly to the nearby guards and even laughed a few times.

“I hear you guys got in big trouble?” The vicious guard laughed a little maliciously and said, “You got a good ten point task, but none of you knew how to cherish it. Great, now you not only won’t get a score but if the situation gets worse, you might even get a few hundred points deducted from your scores. You guys can just stay in this place and rot to death.”

All the nonhumans were like lifeless wooden puppets. No matter what the guards said, they didn’t respond. The Alpha guard who scanned Ethan’s body whistled unexpectedly and said, “Isn’t this the government secretary? You’re just a weak scholar, but you managed to survive.”

“Hahaha, do you see, isn’t the red thing on his neck a healing bite mark? He probably survived by eating some Alpha’s banana~” Ethan bit the inside of his lower lip so hard that his whole mouth tasted like iron. He tried very hard to press down his feelings of rage and shame. The guard leaned close to his ear and asked vaguely, “Hey, when you used to work in high society, you probably didn’t rely on this, right?” After he spoke, his hand flew down to slap Ethan’s butt, resulting in a crisp sound.

Ethan’s entire body shuddered, his brows tightly wrinkled together, and his lips narrowed into a line. He closed his eyes to hide his anger because he knew that he could not show any emotion. He was in a horrible predicament and didn’t want to give the guard an excuse to get rid of him.

After a series of humiliating scans, they were finally allowed to go in. Ethan followed Samuel back to their room, but Samuel was silent and cold the entire way. Even those who wanted to say hello to him were scared and rubbed their noses and fled.

The cramped room was a mess. Ethan’s bedspread and quilt were both gone, and the toiletries he had brought were thrown on the floor, as though he had been robbed. On the contrary, Samuel’s things were hardly touched. Ethan stood by his bed, a little confused as he asked, “Where’s my stuff?”

“Hmph, they don’t dare to touch my things until they have confirmed the news of my death.” His tone was a little arrogant, and Ethan was furious.

This group of scum who bullied the weak and feared the strong……

However, thinking about it carefully, it seemed that he was also one of those scum……

Since they had just arrived today, they were not required to work in the morning, but they still had to go to their respective posts in the afternoon. The Forbidden City itself was a small ecosystem. They needed to grow and cook their own food, mend and clean their clothes, clean their streets, and dispose of their garbage. Everyone had to work to maintain the entire Forbidden City. The Forbidden City also helped some outside companies produce goods since they had excess manpower, and the nonhumans did not need to be paid wages, which could effectively reduce costs. Others with special talents, such as Derek, would remotely assist the government or a large company in developing some confidential projects.

Samuel changed into a construction worker’s uniform, putting on his old and worn helmet that had an edge chipped off. When he was just about to open the door to leave, Ethan quickly asked him, “What should I do?”

“They didn’t tell you what your job is?”

Ethan shook his head. He was ordered to go to Red Earth right after entering the Forbidden City. He hadn’t even finished breakfast at that time. Samuel took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, saying casually, “Ask a guard yourself. I’m not your mother.” He then left.

Ethan sighed. It seemed that Samuel was still angry with him, and he didn’t know how much longer it would last. He shrugged his shoulders and suddenly felt very sticky. Ethan rummaged under his bed for a long time and found that all his clothes were gone. He had no choice but to take a set from Samuel’s closet before running to the bathroom to take a shower while the whole building was almost empty. Samuel’s clothes were too big on him, so he had to roll up the sleeves. He wiped his glasses using the corner of the shirt’s hem before walking out the door.

At this time, the streets in the residential area were fairly empty, but he could still see the silent robotic policemen standing by the roadside with every few steps he took, the flashing red lights on their heads slowly rotating as he walked. He felt nervous every time he passed by another killing machine. Ethan walked quickly through the long street, looking around for the guards. It was strange that the security guards were usually everywhere, but now that he wanted to find one, he couldn’t find any.

It wasn’t that he wanted to work, but someone had stolen his sheets and quilts, so he also wanted to ask them if there were any extras.

However, he didn’t know if he had walked the wrong way, but the further he walked, the more remote his surroundings grew, and the buildings lining the road became increasingly dilapidated. There were even some buildings that had collapsed. He was a newcomer and had no idea where he was and was unsure whether he should continue walking forward.

However, he heard a cry for help soon after.

The voice was so sad and miserable that it was almost heart-wrenching, and in that moment, he remembered the terrified people that had been swept away by the tentacles on Red Earth. The horrifying memory swept through his mind like a wave, and he almost wanted to flee. However, Ethan was unable to ignore the man’s repeated pleas, so he quietly searched for the source of the voice.

Inside a half-collapsed building, several guards laughed as they surrounded a man whose hands were suspended by a bare steel beam.

To be exact, it was an Omega nonhuman, who Ethan was acquainted with.

Wasn’t that Sbarro Typhoeus, one of his former colleagues at the Energy Bureau and one of the researchers in charge of Project Zero?

He could see that the Omega’s body was full of injuries and stained with fluids, and he shook with the wind. Ethan didn’t recognize the Alpha guard, who seemed to be their leader, but his appearance could leave a deep impression on others. The tall and thin guard wasn’t wearing a hat, exposing his gray hair. His long and narrow face looked sinister, and his eyes were reminiscent of those of vultures. He played with an electric shock baton in his hand, with blue electric flowers flashing from it.

Typhoeus was crying, constantly pleading, “Enough, enough, I wouldn’t dare to do it again! It’s my fault!”

The guards burst out in joyous laughter, as though an Omega’s tears brought them the greatest happiness. The gray-haired guard looked at him without pity, and once again jabbed the baton at the insides of Typhoeus’s thigh. The Omega let out a bone-chilling scream, his entire body arching like a bow.

Ethan did not know how long he had been tortured in this manner. There was even a pool of excrement and unidentified filth at his feet.

Ethan previously had a good relationship with Typhoeus when they were in the Energy Bureau. He didn’t expect that even he had been thrown into the Forbidden City.

Was it because of Project Zero?

However, what scared him even more at this moment was the twisted smiles on the guards’ faces. They gazed appreciatively at Typhoeus’s convulsing body as he foamed at the mouth and struggled at the edge of life and death. They were engrossed in the act, behaving as though they were tormenting a person they held deep hatred for, rather than an Omega who didn’t even have the strength to truss a chicken.

Ethan suddenly felt more terrified of these guards than the goddess of fertility from Red Earth. He suddenly realized that there were no rules in the Forbidden City. The guards were legal citizens, so they could do anything to the nonhumans, even killing them. They could completely vent their darkest emotions on the nonhumans.

Ethan didn’t know what to do. He wanted to help Typhoeus, but he knew that his fate would not be any better than that of Typhoeus if he barged onto the scene. The best thing he could do was to slip away.

He had hid half of his body behind a mud wall while he struggled between fear and compassion, both parts of him pushing and pulling at his conscience. In the end, fear prevailed.

No one could blame him for being selfish in a place like the Forbidden City, right? He wouldn’t be able to help much if he rushed out anyway, right?

He comforted himself and had just turned around to sneak away while all the guards’ backs were facing him. However, he was suddenly spotted by Typhoeus, who had just calmed down and opened his eyes. Typhoeus yelled like he was grasping his life-saving straw, “Help me!!! Help me!!!”

The guards wondered why he suddenly shouted so vigorously. Ethan, who was standing behind them, was unable to move away from his spot, no matter how hard he tried.

Faced with Typhoeus’s despairing gaze, he really couldn’t pretend not to have heard him and leave him in this way. While he was hesitating, the gray-haired guard suddenly turned his head and saw him.

“You……” His falcon-like eyes narrowed, as though he was staring at a mouse that no longer wanted to live.

Ethan’s legs softened due to fear, but he yelled, “Reporting to you, sir! There’s a fight going on at the construction site! The guards were unable to control the situation and asked me to come request reinforcements!”

T/N: Thank you Mo and Kofi-supporter for your kofis !